“Battle of Survival” Is Hamas Changing Its Strategy on the Ground?

Clashes continue between the Israeli army and Palestinian factions in various areas of the Gaza Strip, despite efforts to mediate between Israel and Hamas before the start of Ramadan on March 10 or 11.

But Hamas’s military wing, led by Yahya al-Sinwar’s brother Mohammed, appears to have changed its day-to-day tactics and started playing a different game on the ground since a short-lived ceasefire last November.

Avoiding gun battles

Hamas fighters now appear to be trying to avoid major gun battles. They carry out small-scale ambushes rather than large-scale operations. From rocket-propelled grenades to recording prisoners’ voices, Israeli forces use traps and ambushes to try to lure them into ambushes.

According to the American newspaper “Wall Street Journal”, although guerrilla operations cannot be a means of maintaining a presence in the region against Israeli armored tactics, they are designed according to the limited capabilities of Hamas and Al- Sinwar’s goal of war.

Matter of survival

“This is very good strategic logic. Their [Hamas’] strategic goal is to survive,” said Eyal Perelovich, a civilian analyst of the Israeli armed forces and a military historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The change reduced Hamas losses, but it also reduced Israeli troop numbers. Hamas did not carry out many operations where it could have targeted them.

“Their change in strategy indicates that their need to survive is greater than their need to defeat Israel,” he added.

An ambush usually involves a rocket-propelled grenade, specifically a Yasin 105 round fired from a shoulder-fired launcher, developed by Hamas. It is a Russian-made light weapon.

One of the fighters fires an RPG. Another man carries an AK-47 automatic rifle, and a third man holds a camera to produce video for social media.

According to the newspaper, Hamas propaganda videos often end after an RPG shell explodes, making it unclear how much damage has been done to the target.

Grenades and Sticky Bombs

Jay Aviyad, a researcher on Hamas affairs and a former Israeli officer, said the grenades usually caused limited damage to Israeli “Merkava” armored vehicles and tanks, but were more lethal against less protected vehicles as well as infantry.

Hamas fighters use a sticky bomb, which consists of improvised explosive devices, in ambush attacks. They stick to Israeli armored vehicles with magnets or duct tape.

In addition, many Israeli soldiers say that Hamas is also trying to kill Israeli forces by planting bobby traps in buildings across Gaza.

Israeli soldiers revealed that large-scale traps were found in the homes of Hamas operatives, as well as in the homes of many civilians.

Explosives inside buildings

As the war began, explosives were placed around the entrances to the buildings. The Israelis soon stopped using the front door and instead resorted to blasting their way through the walls of the house.

Israeli soldiers also explained that Hamas planted explosive devices inside the buildings, ranging from gas cylinders to children’s toys, depending on the situation.

In some places, Hamas tried to trap Israeli soldiers by planting explosives in the belongings of Israeli prisoners detained on October 7.

Audio recording of prisoners

In other cases, Hamas has used audio recordings of prisoners begging for help in Hebrew to try to ambush soldiers.

In parallel, Hamas leaders in Gaza have told Egyptian officials and the exiled group’s political wing that the al-Qassam Brigades have lost at least 6,000 of their estimated 30,000 fighters before the war.

Hamas lost 12 thousand fighters

Israel has said it has killed about 12,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza so far, in addition to about 1,000 other fighters killed in fighting in Israel on October 7.

But U.S. and Egyptian intelligence officials believe the real damage falls roughly halfway between what Israel and Hamas claim.
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Military analysts point out that while Hamas can recruit new fighters to replace its regular soldiers, it is more difficult to replace experienced commanders.

242 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza so far, in addition to more than 300 killed on October 7.

It is noteworthy that civilians in Gaza are suffering from the ravages of war, thousands of people have been killed by airstrikes and ground fire, while two million people are homeless and facing severe food shortages.