The Biden administration gradually accepts the continued presence of Hamas after the war
The White House confirms that Hamas still possesses significant capabilities within Gaza after about three months since the start of the war
On Wednesday, the White House announced that Hamas still has “significant capabilities” inside Gaza after about three months of the war between Israel and the Palestinian movement, amid discussions about the U.S. administration’s acceptance of the movement’s presence after the war.
The spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, John Kirby, said, “We believe that reducing and destroying Hamas‘s ability to carry out attacks inside Israel is an achievable goal for the Israeli forces.” He added, “It can be done, militarily,” affirming that the Israeli army is capable of “eliminating the threat posed by Hamas to the Israeli people,” but he clarified, saying, “Will its ideology be eliminated? No. And is there a possibility of eliminating the group? Probably not.”
In response to a question about the number of Hamas members “still to be eliminated,” Kirby said that he had estimates he did not want to delve into the details of, adding, “But Hamas still possesses significant capabilities in Gaza.”
Kirby pointed out that Hamas is not “just a diverse group of terrorists” but is an “organized group like an army.” However, Israelis “have had an impact on Hamas‘s ability to lead and organize (and its ability) to renew its resources, frankly, on leading its forces.” Kirby’s position contradicts previous U.S. estimates regarding the future of the Gaza Strip after the war, which completely excludes Hamas, amidst efforts to give the Palestinian Authority a chance to govern the sector, something rejected by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Hamas asserts that any attempt to exclude it from governing the Gaza Strip will fail completely, amid rejection of an initiative presented by Egypt to relinquish control of the sector in exchange for a ceasefire.
The fighting continues in Gaza, where at least 41 Palestinians were killed due to airstrikes carried out by the Israeli warplanes and artillery in various areas of the sector, according to the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) on its website on Thursday morning.
The agency quoted medical and local sources as saying, “The occupation aircraft carried out a series of raids targeting the Al-Khulafa Mosque west of Khan Yunis (south of the sector), the vicinity of Nasser Hospital, and several houses housing displaced people, resulting in the martyrdom of at least 20 citizens and the injury of others.”
Additionally, 14 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting another house that housed displaced people west of Khan Yunis. At least 4 Palestinians were killed and others were injured in an airstrike by the Israeli warplanes targeting a house in the Deir al-Balah camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian agency added that an airstrike hit a house near the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, leading to several injuries, and 7 Palestinians were killed in an airstrike targeting a populated house west of Deir al-Balah.
The Israeli planes targeted a group of civilians near the Aisha Mosque in the Salam neighborhood east of Rafah in the southern sector, resulting in the killing of 4 of them and the injury of others.
Additionally, two individuals were killed and others were injured in the shelling of a house west of Nuseirat in the central sector, coinciding with a series of intense raids on the Nuseirat camp. The Israeli warplanes and artillery launched a series of raids on northern Gaza areas, resulting in several deaths and injuries.
The agency mentioned that the number of casualties from the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip since October 7th has risen to more than 22,300, including at least 9,600 children and 6,750 women, in addition to 7,000 missing persons and more than 57,200 wounded.
