(JNS) While national attention remains focused on Iran and Lebanon, former Israeli defense officials who are monitoring the Gaza arena caution that action will likely be needed to stop Hamas’s long-term efforts to rebuild a terror army in the Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces inflicted massive damage on the terrorist organization during the Swords of Iron War, and maintains operational control over more than half of the coastal enclave, yet the group is actively exploiting the halt in fighting to rehabilitate its civilian control and re-establish its military footprint.

Former Israeli intelligence officials told JNS that the long-term implications of this reality cannot be dealt with using diplomatic agreements or third-party interventions, adding that these can never disarm a terror organization that retains its grip on the local population.

Shalom Ben Hanan, a fellow at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University and a former Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) division head, stated, “The starting point is that we stopped the war with Hamas standing on its feet. It was severely damaged, it must be said, and...

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