Nearly half of Hamas’ military battalions in northern and central Gaza have rebuilt some of their fighting capabilities despite more than nine months of Israel’s brutal offensive, according to analyses by the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project, the Institute for the Study of War and CNN.
Eight battalions are combat effective, able to carry out missions against Israeli soldiers on the ground in Gaza. A combat effective unit can accomplish the mission that it is assigned. CTP and ISW rated units combat effective when they assessed that they were defending ground using sophisticated tactics and more advanced weapon systems.
The battalions in central Gaza are the least damaged in the strip, according to Israeli military sources and the analyses. Israeli sources say they have not adequately “dealt” with those battalions because they are believed to be holding many Israeli hostages.
Egypt has been an ally for decades, even if public opinion in Egypt has forced the government to keep the relationship out of the spotlight. Anyone who claims that Israel has no friends in the region is woefully out of date. The region is bipolar, and Israel is firmly in one of the two camps.