Despite being besieged by Israeli tanks and military, and facing the threat of complete destruction by Trump, Hamas is still showing a tenacious stance amid less than half of the remaining ruins of Gaza, and is trying to restore the prototype of pre-war governance. This highlights Hamas's refusal to hand over all power and weapons as required by Trump's peace plan, which is currently at an impasse in the first phase of the cease-fire. Although the Islamic faction is no longer able to form paramilitary forces like when it invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, its rifles still make Trump's vision of a foreign intervention force uneasy. Mukhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, who is currently at Northwestern University in Chicago, said, “Hamas is using the delay in the second phase of Trump's plan to re-establish political and security control in the area it actually controls.” According to three Hamas members serving in the government or military, the faction has placed its armed men under a more streamlined command structure. They also said that Hamas is selecting a Politburo leader to replace Ismail Hania, who was assassinated by Israel in Iran in 2024.

Despite being besieged by Israeli tanks and military, and facing the threat of complete destruction by Trump, Hamas is still showing a tenacious stance amid less than half of the remaining ruins of Gaza, and is trying to restore the prototype of pre-war governance. This highlights Hamas's refusal to hand over all power and weapons as required by Trump's peace plan, which is currently at an impasse in the first phase of the cease-fire. Although the Islamic faction is no longer able to form paramilitary forces like when it invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, its rifles still make Trump's vision of a foreign intervention force uneasy. Mukhaimar Abusada, a political science professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, who is currently at Northwestern University in Chicago, said, “Hamas is using the delay in the second phase of Trump's plan to re-establish political and security control in the area it actually controls.” According to three Hamas members serving in the government or military, the faction has placed its armed men under a more streamlined command structure. They also said that Hamas is selecting a Politburo leader to replace Ismail Hania, who was assassinated by Israel in Iran in 2024.