Israel is facing a Hamas resurgence in northern Gaza despite declaring their brigades defeated and partially withdrawing to lay siege to the south.

IDF fighters have come under increasing fire from militants reappearing in Gaza City, while evidence of Hamas reestablishing government duties there have also emerged.

Hamas has been deploying police officers around government buildings and handing out some partial civil servant salaries in recent days, an official from the group said.

They claimed that some police have even been sent to establish control around Al-Shifa hospital, seized early in the war in a watershed moment for the invasion. The official made the claims in an anonymous interview with Associated Press which were backed by local residents.

At the beginning of January the  Israel Defence Forces (IDF) declared that they had “dismantled” the “military framework” of Hamas in the north of Gaza and that they would shift their focus toward the south. It took just 10 days before rockets were launched from the north into Israel.

After conducting partial pull-outs from Gaza City in the past few weeks that enabled some residents to return and pick through the rubble, Israeli forces have been mounting incursions to tackle the insurgent forces.

Fighters relaunch war of attrition

In the western part of Gaza City, which Israel declared cleared in November, a small group of Al-Qassam Brigades fighters have relaunched a war of attrition. Palestinian factions in the northern areas of Jabaliya and Sheikh Radwan have also been claiming responsibility for rocket attacks since mid-January.

The IDF are expected to bolster their troop presence in the north of the blockaded enclave in the coming weeks to counter the Hamas resurgence efforts, Israel’s army radio reported. According to Israeli media reports, the IDF are estimating that about 2,000 Hamas fighters remain in the north of Gaza.

A United Nations assessment of the needs in northern Gaza, where aid organisations have struggled to deliver aid for months, has been stalled because of the resurgence of fighting, the US State Department admitted on Wednesday.

“It’s quite clear it was ready to go and there was a resurgence of fighting in the north,” said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. “After Israel pulled a number of units out, there were Hamas fighters that regrouped and started launching rockets and started launching attacks against Israeli forces.”

The pockets of Hamas resurgence in the north and central parts of Gaza come as Israel’s defence minister has indicated that Israeli ground troops will soon advance on Rafah, now that they have “dismantled” the Khan Younis brigades.

The IDF said they had deployed their 99th division in Gaza City to create a barrier to block Hamas from reentering from the south of the Gaza Strip. The Institute for the Study of War on Sunday said that Hamas is continuing to infiltrate that barrier, having done so successfully more than 10 times since January 31.

While Hamas gunmen keep up attacks across Gaza’s main cities, Israel has withdrawn most of its reserve forces from Gaza to recoup and prepare for a likely war with Hezbollah on Israel’s northern front.

“If Hezbollah thinks that when there’s a pause in fighting in the south, we will hold fire against it, it’s sorely mistaken,” Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday as reports of another temporary ceasefire deal grew near.

An official from Hamas said its police had been employed in some parts of Gaza City in part to restore order and to prevent further looting as hunger continues to grow more severe.

Entire population at risk of famine

Saeed Abdel-Bar, a resident of Gaza City, said a cousin received funds from a makeshift Hamas office near the hospital that was set up to distribute $200 (£158)  payouts to government employees, including police officers and municipal workers.

The war has decimated Gaza Strip’s infrastructure and left an entire population at immediate risk of famine.

Since seizing control of Gaza nearly 17 years ago, Hamas has been operating a government bureaucracy with tens of thousands of civil servants, including teachers, traffic and civil police who operate separately from the group’s secretive military wing.

The partial salary payments of $200 for at least some government employees signal that Israel has not delivered a knock-out blow to Hamas, even as it claims to have killed more than 9,000 Hamas fighters.

Ahmed Abu Hadrous, a Gaza City resident, said Israeli warplanes struck the area where the makeshift office is located multiple times earlier this week, including Saturday morning.

The indications that Hamas continues to retain some control over Gaza come amid delicate negotiations over a new truce as tensions inside Israel grow over the fate of the remaining 130 hostages.