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A senior Hamas official has recently disclosed that the terror group has lost control of 80% of Gaza. This may be tree, or — argues Israeli journalist Seth Frantzman — it may be false, a deliberate attempt to convince the Israelis that Hamas has been so beaten down, and represents so little a threat any more, that Israel can afford take a chance on puling its troops out of of almost all of Gaza and leaving the “powerless” Hamas in place. More on Hamas’ claim of weakness can be found here: “Admitting defeat? Why Hamas officials say the terror group ‘lost control’ of Gaza – analysis,” by Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, July 7, 2025:
The same day that ceasefire talks took place in Doha, a report emerged on the BBC that suggested Hamas had “lost control over most of Gaza.”
The timing of the report leads to questions. According to the report, “A senior officer in Hamas’s security forces has told the BBC the Palestinian armed group has lost about 80% of its control over the Gaza Strip and that armed clans are filling the void.”
However, if Hamas has lost control why is it able to negotiate from a position of strength in Qatar and continue to hold onto demands it has made for the last year?
The report said that the source of the claims is a “lieutenant-colonel” in Hamas’s “security forces.” Why would a high-ranking member of Hamas suddenly decide to leak these key details on the same day that ceasefire talks are ongoing?
The talks are aimed at presenting Hamas’s proposals to continue its rule in Gaza. The report would seem to weaken the Hamas position. However, the report could also strengthen the view of some Israeli officials that Israel has won in Gaza. If Hamas says it has collapsed, why not take its word for it and end the war and claim victory? Could the Hamas officer thus be leaking details that Hamas wants to be leaked?
The report said that the Hamas member said the group’s “command and control system had collapsed due to months of Israeli strikes that have devastated the group’s political, military and security leadership.”
The officer is presented as an anonymous source, and he left “voice messages” about the state of Hamas affairs. “The officer painted a picture of Hamas’s internal disintegration and the near-total collapse of security across Gaza, which the group governed before the conflict.”
The Hamas member claimed that 95% of Hamas leaders have been killed. “There’s barely anything left of the security structure.” How does Hamas continue to hold around 35%-40% of Gaza and rule over 2 million people?
Hamas also claimed it could deliver the hostages, according to reports of a possible deal. How can both things be true, that Hamas has no control, but controls 2 million people and the hostages?
“Criminal gangs are everywhere, society is collapsing,” the source claimed. “About the security situation, let me be clear: it has completely collapsed. Totally gone. There’s no control anywhere,” he said….
Is this true? Does Hamas not still control all of the Israeli hostages? Doesn’t it continue to fight, and inflict casualties, on the IDF in northern Gaza? Has it not been able to disrupt the tremendous efforts of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to distribute aid while bypassing Hamas, by firing on people trying to receive food, which makes many Gazans too afraid to come to the four distribution centers?
Is this claim of Hamas’ near-total collapse, which has been fed to the media, including the BBC, by an unidentified senior military man in Hamas, a true reflection of the terror group’s current weakness, or is Hamas’ loss of control deliberately being greatly exaggerated, in the hope that the Israelis will take it as true and be more willing to leave in place a Hamas that barely controls “20% of Gaza” and is still being pummeled daily, not just by the IDF but by the powerful clans, including that led by Yasser Abu Shabab?