Hamas is feeling the beginning of the end.
The world will be a better place as long as international leaders don't step in the way of Israel finishing off the terror group in Gaza once and for all.
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Senior Hamas member Moussa Abu Marzouk admitted he would not have backed the October 7, 2023, invasion and onslaught in southern Israel if he had known what the consequences would be for the Gaza Strip, in an interview with The New York Times that was conducted on Friday and published on Monday.
The statement of regret marked a departure from previous statements by Hamas officials. A few weeks after the invasion, for example, another senior member publicly declared that October 7th was “just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth” — adding, “we are ready to pay” the price, and vowing to continue until Israel was totally annihilated.
In the weeks since a hostage release-ceasefire deal was reached last month, Hamas and its allies have also repeatedly called the war a “victory” for their cause.
Of course, Abu Marzouk’s remarks were quickly countered by Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem, who said: “The occupation’s aggressive and destructive behavior is the cause of the destruction in Gaza. The October 7th epic marks a strategic turning point in the Palestinian national struggle.”
In a statement issued a short while later by the group itself, Hamas claimed Abu Marzouk’s comments were “incorrect and taken out of context.”
In the interview, Abu Marzouk said Hamas’ survival, despite Israel’s campaign in Gaza, constituted a “kind of victory.” He compared the terror group, which has been the de facto government of Gaza since ousting the Palestinian Authority’s main Fatah faction in a 2007 coup, to a regular person who has survived a boxing match with heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. But he said that in absolute terms, it would be “unacceptable” to call the war a win for the terror group.
For years, Hamas has tried to deceive the world about its organizational structure. It has a “military wing” and a “political wing” — which are supposedly separated, for those more naive in the crowd.
The “military wing” (to which Abu Marzouk belongs) is largely based in Gaza; it is believed to be more extreme than Hamas’ “political wing” which is believed to be more pragmatic (as pragmatic as terrorists can be) and largely based outside of Gaza in places like Qatar, Turkey, and Lebanon.
Herein lies the cracks in Hamas’ façade, and they are growing wider by the day. The internal contradictions within the organization — the fluctuating rhetoric, the clear discrepancies between its political and military wings, and its inability to maintain a consistent strategic vision — all signal a deepening crisis.
Moussa Abu Marzouk’s half-hearted regret is telling. It does not stem from any moral awakening, but from a belated recognition of the overwhelming price Hamas has paid for its reckless decision to attack Israel on October 7th.
The terror group underestimated Israel’s resolve and overestimated its own ability to sustain a prolonged confrontation with the Jewish state. The sheer scale of destruction in Gaza (due to Hamas’ extensive use of civilian infrastructure as shields), the decimation of Hamas’ infrastructure, the targeted elimination of key commanders, and the crippling of supply lines have left the organization scrambling for survival.
The visible fractures within Hamas leadership indicate a broader collapse. The so-called “political wing,” based in luxury abroad, has begun signaling openness to negotiations, while the military wing, trapped and desperate in Gaza, clings to its apocalyptic vision. The result is a chaotic and inconsistent message.
And this is nothing new. In the first few months of this war, Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was reportedly at odds with Hamas’ political leader abroad, Ismail Haniyeh. Sinwar wanted to hold out until more regional actors joined the attack against Israel, while Haniyeh desired more compromise and pragmatism. Both men are now dead, eliminated by Israel. The world is better off as a result.
Meanwhile, Hamas has absolutely no credibility anymore — and frankly, I am not sure how much it had even before October 7th. It has long manipulated the Palestinian people, portraying itself as the champion of resistance while governing with boundless brutality and corruption.
But as Gazans face starvation, homelessness, and relentless Israeli military pressure, more and more are seeing Hamas for what it is: an organization that dragged them into a catastrophe without a plan, without an endgame, and without concern for their suffering. Reports of Gazans confronting Hamas members, rejecting their authority, and even attacking them outright are becoming more frequent. The myth of Hamas as an invincible force is crumbling.
What’s more, the international arena is no longer as forgiving to Hamas as it once was. Western nations that once tolerated Hamas’ existence as a “fact on the ground” are reassessing their positions.
Many in the Arab world, too, are privately frustrated with Hamas for reigniting a conflict that has left Gaza in ruins and disrupted regional stability. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are growing wary of the long-term implications of Hamas’ survival, and even Iran — Hamas’ key benefactor — is now prioritizing other fronts, such as its proxies in Yemen and Lebanon. Hamas’ relevance is waning.
At the same time, the erosion of Hamas’ operational capabilities is accelerating. Israel’s relentless targeting of top commanders and infrastructure has left the terror group disoriented. Intelligence suggests that Hamas’ chain of command is breaking down, and its fighters, many of whom are isolated and under relentless pressure, are reduced to low-impact guerrilla tactics.
And the promised reinforcements from other terrorist groups have failed to materialize in any meaningful way. The group Hamas really counted on, Hezbollah in Lebanon, was shell-shocked by Israel. On Tuesday, Mossad Director David Barnea spoke about their beeper operation targeting Hezbollah terrorists last September, saying:
“Hezbollah suffered a very severe blow that broke the organization’s morale. Victory in the war is not measured by the number of deaths or missiles, but by victory over the morale and motivation of the enemy.”
“We initiated and planned operations and deployed special capabilities in enemy territory. And most importantly, we understood that the next war would be different from the previous ones we knew.”
Meanwhile, in Iran, the jihadist cronies there are too preoccupied with their own survival to focus on that of Hamas. According to a report on Tuesday, the Iranian regime has placed their nuclear facilities on high alert bracing for a potential attack by Israel and the United States, adding this from a source:
“They [Iranian authorities] are just waiting for the attack and are anticipating it every night and everything has been on high alert — even in sites that no one knows about.”1
In other words, Hamas is running out of options, and its once-vaunted military machine is faltering.
As Hamas weakens, so does their leverage in any negotiation. The lavish lives of their leaders outside of Gaza — far removed from the suffering in the Strip — are coming under scrutiny. Their hypocrisy is becoming impossible to ignore, and their ability to maintain control over Hamas’ operations in Gaza is diminishing. The more they attempt to dictate the struggle from afar, the more irrelevant they become.
This is the reality: Hamas is collapsing fast. Its leadership is divided, its fighters are desperate, its support is dwindling, and its mythology is being dismantled. The question is no longer whether Hamas can achieve its goals; it cannot. The question is whether it can even survive the current phase of its ceasefire deal with Israel.
For now, Israel is expecting the four remaining slain hostages from the first phase of the ceasefire deal to be released by Hamas on Thursday. There are ongoing efforts to expedite the release.
Once that final release of hostages envisioned in the first phase happens, Hamas has three choices according to an Israeli official: It can agree to Israel’s terms — that it disarm, that its leaders go into exile, and that it give up any civil control over Gaza — and then Israel will move to the second phase of the deal, which would see all hostages released and the war come to an end. Hamas can also continue releasing hostages and extend the ceasefire.2
Or, said the official, Hamas can choose the end of the ceasefire, which would mean a return to all-out war.
“It would be different,” said the official. “A new defense minister, a new chief of staff, all the weapons we need, and full legitimacy, one hundred percent, from the Trump administration. The gates of hell will be opened, as they say.”
Translation: Israel holds the upper hand militarily, diplomatically, and strategically. The collapse of Hamas is not merely an Israeli objective; it will benefit the entire region and those across the world who benefit from it. Hamas is being backed into a corner where its only choices are surrender, exile, or annihilation.
For Israel, this moment is pivotal. The world is witnessing the unraveling of a regime that has brought nothing but destruction to the people it claims to represent. The myth of Hamas as a “resistance” movement is shattering, exposing it as a corrupt, self-serving death cult that profits from Palestinian and Israeli suffering.
Thankfully, the era of Hamas seems to be ending. Israel and its allies must be determined to see it through.
“Iran on ‘high alert’ amid fears of attack on nuclear sites.” The Telegraph.
“Israeli official says Hamas has 3 options: Extend ceasefire by releasing more hostages, go into exile, or face renewed war.” The Times of Israel.
I’ll believe it when all of Hamas leadership is dead, all the tunnels are destroyed, every last weapon in the hands of Palestinians is removed, control of Gaza is the hands of Israel, and all Palestinians are removed permanently from Gaza. Only then can we even hope for peace. Israel needs to destroy the idea of Palestine, a country that never existed or ever will exist.
From your mouth to God’s ears.