JERUSALEM, Israel (June 29, 2026) — Senior Israeli military officials have warned that Hamas is working to restore its combat capabilities in Gaza, raising concerns that the terror group may be preparing for another round of major fighting with Israel.
According to assessments presented to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, officers from the Military Intelligence Directorate and Southern Command believe Hamas is using the current pause in large-scale combat to rebuild weapons stockpiles, recruit young fighters and reestablish battlefield infrastructure damaged during the war.
The reported assessment says Hamas is producing large numbers of explosive devices and anti-tank weapons each month. The group is also said to be bringing in new recruits, primarily young men in their late teens and early twenties, while resuming training for its Nukhba commandos, the elite unit that played a central role in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
Israeli officials are also monitoring Hamas efforts to reconstruct parts of its tunnel network across Gaza. Much of that underground system was targeted repeatedly by Israeli forces over the past two years, but military assessments indicate Hamas is attempting to rebuild command, movement and weapons routes below ground.
The group is also reportedly trying to bring drones and communications equipment into Gaza through smuggling channels linked to the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli defense officials believe Hamas remains the dominant force inside the enclave and is not facing any serious internal challenge to its authority.
Within the IDF, senior commanders are said to support renewed military action aimed at preventing Hamas from fully restoring its operational strength. However, the United States has opposed a broad new Israeli campaign, instead pressing to preserve the current framework while advancing a broader postwar arrangement for Gaza.
That plan remains stuck in its early stages. Its next phase calls for a gradual Israeli pullback, the disarmament of Hamas and the arrival of an international security force. Progress has stalled as Hamas resists disarmament, while mediators continue to treat the group’s removal from armed control as a central condition for moving forward.