Hamas openly threatens Israel with ‘more Oct 7 attacks’ as intelligence shows terror group is rearming

The terror group Hamas is rebuilding its military strength and has sent a direct, explicit threat to Israel that it will attempt more Oct. 7-style assaults in the future, according to reports this week.

Senior IDF military officials have presented their U.S. counterparts intelligence indicating that Hamas is building up its forces for another large-scale confrontation, rather than disarming as the U.S.-backed peace plan demands, according to a Thursday report by the newspaper Haaretz.

The group recently even sent a highly unusual, blunt threat to Israel through mediators, warning that it is prepared to launch another Oct. 7-style assault wherever it has the opportunity, including within Israel, in Judea and Samaria, or abroad.

Ynet News reported that senior Hamas officials transmitted this message via UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov.

The officials told Alakbarov that they won’t accept Hamas continuing to lose its grip on the Gaza Strip, which is caused by ongoing IDF operations and Israel’s steady efforts to decrease the area under Hamas’s control by moving the ceasefire line to the west.

In addition, the Palestinian Authority’s cancellation of the planned elections removed a horizon for change and possible hope for the population.

Alakbarov delivered this message to the chief of COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), Maj.-Gen. Yoram Halevi, who coordinates civilian relations with the Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials told Ynet that Hamas’s message was unprecedented in its bluntness and was promptly forwarded to the political and security leadership. Israeli leaders, particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, have recently issued a series of warnings over the past weeks that Israel’s enemies could attack before, or during, the Oct. 27 Knesset election.

Hamas ostensibly agreed to the U.S.-backed Gaza Peace Plan but has refused to sign off on various of its provisions, particularly regarding its disarmament.

Haaretz reported that Israeli officials now showed U.S. officials intelligence proving Hamas never intended to lay down its weapons or cooperate with the Gaza Board of Peace.

The report cited IDF assessments that Hamas has largely repaired the tunnel system in the parts of Gaza that it currently controls, roughly between a third and a fourth of the enclave.

In addition, the group managed to recruit new members and replace the tens of thousands of operatives it lost throughout the war, now again numbering some 30,000-40,000 military operatives, similar to its pre-war strength.

This enabled it to once again become the unchallenged authority in areas not under IDF control.

The Guardian reported last week that Israel has refused to grant approval for the construction of a military outpost by the Board of Peace in Gaza to be used by its International Stabilization Force (ISF).

Israeli government and military officials have insisted that no reconstruction work can start until Hamas is disarmed and the Gaza Strip is demilitarized. While Hamas officials told the U.S. they are willing to hand over their weapons, Israeli security officials say the terror group is using the ceasefire to try to rehabilitate its forces and reestablish control over the Gaza population.

The Guardian report comes as other reports say the Israeli government approved a team affiliated with the Board of Peace to scout for secure locations where Hamas can surrender its weapons in the Gaza Strip. A source told The Guardian that the Board of Peace believes the Israeli government will approve the project after the Oct. 27 elections.

Israel has recently ramped up its targeted killings in the strip, particularly targeting terrorists who were involved in the Hamas invasion and the kidnappings on Oct. 7.

Responding to Ynet News’s report on Thursday, Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot charged that “There has never been another government in Israel that enjoyed so much public and international legitimacy to dismantle Hamas. There has never been another government that failed so systematically and negligently to achieve the war objectives it set for itself, while squandering the achievements of the fighters on the ground.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way. I pledge: within 18 months of my entering the Prime Minister’s Office, Hamas will no longer control the Gaza Strip. There is a path to genuine security. There is another way.”