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Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkxdajrcp#autoplay
Hamas Fighters Will Continue Fighting as Long as They Have Hope
(Ynet News) Ron Ben-Yishai - The Hamas operatives who returned to hide in Gaza City's Shifa Hospital wrongly assumed that Israel, facing massive international pressure, would not dare to respond, even if it found out about their presence there. Hamas won't surrender. Its fighters will try to survive as long as they have hope and sporadically engage in guerrilla warfare against the IDF in Gaza. This could take months, compelling the IDF to firm up its security hold on areas where Hamas' military capacity has been dismantled. This scenario mirrors the aftermath of Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 in the West Bank: the IDF entered Palestinian cities and towns, but pockets of resistance and terrorist cells remained active until 2004 when the resistance waned. In fact, the IDF's "mowing the grass" tactic continues there to this day. Surviving Hamas terrorists will continue engaging IDF forces for a long time, and it's important to acknowledge this reality. Hamas survives because its leaders and operatives believe global public opinion will soon end IDF action. The Israeli government must approach the U.S. and Western allies to clarify that their calls for an immediate ceasefire encourage Hamas not to surrender, prolonging the war and the suffering of the population.