American sources to Reuters states that the terrorist group Hamas has recruited between 10,000 and 15,000 new soldiers since October 7, 2023.
About as many as they are believed to have lost in the war.
– It shows that Hamas is far from defeated, says Anders Persson, Israel-Palestine expert at Linnaeus University.
Reuters refers to two sources in the US Congress who have both received US intelligence on the situation in the region.
According to the information – which was provided during the last weeks of the Biden administration – Hamas has managed to recruit new soldiers, but many are supposed to be young and used for what are described as simpler security purposes.
Earlier in January, then US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that it is believed that Hamas has recruited about as many soldiers as it has lost, and that it “sets the stage for continued fighting”.
“Unable to verify”
Israel-Palestine expert Anders Persson presses three things when it comes to the figures of between 10,000 and 15,000 new Hamas soldiers since the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
– What you can say is that it is impossible to verify the information, he says and continues:
– It is also unclear what quality these recruits have. If they are young, traumatized men or even boys. It can be minors without actual training. It cannot be said in advance that they would replace the Hamas soldiers who have died. But having said that, it shows how far from defeated Hamas is.
Want to wait for the opinion figures
When asked how Hamas stands in January 2025 versus how they did before October 7, 2023, Anders Persson replies that it depends on how you measure.
– If you measure military strength, it is weakened. Many of Hamas’s fighters have died, the leaders are dead and much has been eliminated, so there is no doubt that they are weakened, he says and continues:
– If we measure popularity, it is different. I would really like to wait for the new poll numbers that will come after these hostage exchanges. Generally speaking, you had very high political and military support at the start of the war and it has gone down a bit at the end but it remains to be seen how this prisoner exchange will affect that.
Facts: The ceasefire agreement
Phase one:
Lasts six weeks, during which Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages.
Israel is to release roughly 730 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, as well as roughly 1,100 who have been detained by the military in Gaza within the framework of the war.
Israel is to make some initial military withdrawals from key areas in Gaza.
Much more help and supplies are to be released to the population.
Negotiations on the forms for the next phase begin.
Phase two:
Hamas must release all remaining hostages who are alive.
Israel to release more imprisoned Palestinians.
The Israeli military is to initiate a complete withdrawal.
Phase Three:
Hamas to hand over remains of dead hostages.
Three to five years of reconstruction of Gaza to begin under international supervision.
Border crossings to the area must be opened.