Hamas Rebuilds Terror Regime in Gaza While Recruiting Teenage Fighters

While the world looks the other way and Western leaders push for ceasefires, Hamas is using the pause in fighting not for peace but to rebuild its terror empire from the ground up.

According to Israeli national security expert Professor Kobi Michael, Hamas now has “full freedom of movement” across large portions of the Gaza Strip. Since Israeli forces withdrew from parts of Gaza under a new ceasefire framework in October, Hamas has stepped in to fill the power vacuum and it’s doing so with alarming speed and brutality.

Here’s what’s happening on the ground:

• Hamas police have reappeared in Gaza’s streets, executing suspected opponents and consolidating control.

• Teenage boys as young as 16 are being recruited into terrorist ranks with promises of small wages and revenge.

• Terror tunnels are being rebuilt, military stockpiles replenished, and new district governors installed.

This is not a temporary pause in violence it’s a regrouping phase for Hamas. As Professor Michael explained, “Everything that is happening will continue happening as long as Hamas continues to effectively control the western part of the Gaza Strip.”

A December report found that Hamas has already re-established a terror regime in nearly half of the territory it controls including areas the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had previously cleared. The Biden administration’s push for diplomacy and restraint has only emboldened the enemy.

Even more concerning, Hamas is now preparing for new leadership elections following the deaths of top terror leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar. The two leading candidates? Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Mashaal both radical hardliners with deep ties to militant operations.

“Each one is considered to be more militant and more radical,” Michael warned. “It doesn’t really matter who is going to be the next political leader of this terror organization.”

The real danger lies in the recruitment of Gaza’s youth.

• Hamas has become the “most reliable employer” in Gaza, offering desperate teens money and purpose.

• Many of these boys have lost family members in the conflict, creating a powerful motive for revenge.

• As Michael put it bluntly, joining Hamas has become as “natural” as joining a gang in the ghettos of Chicago.

This is the legacy of appeasement and half-measures: terrorists regain ground, children are turned into soldiers, and the foundations for the next massacre are laid brick by brick, tunnel by tunnel.

Biden’s failed Middle East policies appeasing Iran, limiting Israeli military operations, and refusing to take a hard line against Hamas have left Israel and the region more vulnerable than ever. While President Trump’s doctrine of peace through strength kept terror regimes on their heels, Biden’s weakness has given them breathing room.

It’s time to wake up. Hamas isn’t interested in diplomacy. They’re rebuilding, rearming, and recruiting for the next war and unless the U.S. returns to a policy of unapologetic support for Israel’s right to eliminate terrorists, the cycle will repeat.

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