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Israel's Hostage Rescue Exposes Hamas's Vulnerabilities
(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Prof. Kobi Michael - The Israeli operation to free four hostages from Nuseirat in Gaza on June 8 has posed a serious dilemma for Hamas, exposing all its vulnerabilities in terms of intelligence penetration, operational capability, the ability to protect its most important assets, and especially the cynical and cruel use it makes of its people as human shields. Public criticism against Hamas is increasing and likely to continue as the extent of the war's destruction and the damage caused to all residents of Gaza becomes clear. Most of its military and intelligence capabilities have been dismantled, and it's busy preserving and protecting its organizational remnants as the IDF continues to besiege it and as the chain of command no longer functions regularly. Hamas will be left vulnerable and exposed, and it's likely that this insight is permeating the consciousness of its leaders, who are hiding from the long arm of the IDF. In Gaza, many tunnels are no longer in use. Even if they weren't destroyed, the supply lines to them from the important strategic tunnels that were destroyed no longer exist. Besides the difficulties Israel faces, it's important to remember that Hamas's leadership is also facing significant difficulties. The writer, a senior researcher at INSS, served as the deputy director general and head of the Palestinian desk at Israel's Ministry for Strategic Affairs.