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Hamas Must Be Fully Defeated, or Gaza Will Become a Terror-State Like Lebanon
Hamas official Osama Hamdan speaks during a press conference, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Beirut, Lebanon, June 4, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Right now, Hamas’ primary goal is to secure a ceasefire in order to survive the war, rebuild its terror army, and cement its political control of the Gaza Strip.
To accomplish this, Hamas has signaled its willingness to create a governance model in Gaza similar to Hezbollah’s pre-war control of Lebanon: an internationally recognized government providing a façade of authority, while Hamas retains full military-terrorist control on the ground and de facto political power.
This would allow the jihadist organization to regroup, rearm, and ultimately restart its war against Israel at a time of its choosing, with the added ability to claim to Palestinians that it was able to launch the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust and live to walk away.
All proposals that have been floated in the region — that of Egypt, which suggests that the Palestinian Authority take political control through a government of technocrats; as well as ideas floated, including in Israel, of a Gaza ruled by a regional coalition — would result in this dangerous Lebanon-like situation. This is because Israel has not yet completed its military campaign against Hamas.
On March 4, during a summit in Cairo held to present an Arab alternative to President Trump’s plan for Gaza, Egyptian President Fateh El-Sisi stated, “Egypt objects to the eviction of Palestinians and supports their right to remain in their land. We will not take part in these plans. Egypt supports a continuation of the ceasefire and the setting up of an independent Palestinian state. Egypt supports setting up an administrative committee based on independent technocrats who will manage the Strip temporarily and supervise the aid — until the return of the Palestinian Authority.”
According to a Reuters report on March 3, Egypt has drawn up a roadmap for Gaza that proposes “an interim rule by a coalition of Arab, Muslim and Western states.” The plan does not provide details on how Hamas would be sidelined, who would pay for Gaza’s reconstruction, or how governance would be structured.
Most notably, Hamas has, according to multiple reports, already claimed that it accepts such arrangements. This is a clear indication that the terror group sees it as a means to maintain its grip on power.
On February 17, Arab media reports said that Hamas had allegedly agreed to transfer control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority. Sky News Arabia reported that Hamas made this decision under Egyptian pressure, in the context of negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage deal with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Omer Dostri rejected the notion outright, writing on X: “Not going to happen.”
Similarly, Anadolu Agency reported on December 5, 2024, that Hamas had “accepted an Egyptian proposal to form a joint Palestinian committee to run the Gaza Strip after the ongoing Israeli war.” Hamas stated that it had held talks with Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and other Palestinian terror factions to discuss “implementing previously agreed frameworks to achieve Palestinian unity.”
Despite these vague formulations, the underlying reality is that Hamas has no intention of relinquishing its control over Gaza, and would obviously waste no time in exploiting fig leaf administrations in Gaza to reassert control and entrench itself militarily once again.
The Hezbollah model: A trap Israel cannot afford
The model for Gaza that Hamas appears willing to adopt is directly inspired by Hezbollah’s former status in Lebanon, where the terrorist group maintained absolute military control despite the existence of a nominally sovereign Lebanese government.
Before the current war, Hezbollah dictated Lebanon’s security policy, enjoyed de facto veto power over Lebanese governmental decisions, operated a shadow state for its Shiite Lebanese base, and was the strongest military force in the country by a wide margin, dwarfing the Lebanese Armed Forces, which it infiltrated via its Shiite officers and soldiers.
Despite the existence of a Lebanese government, Hezbollah operated its own military command structure and stockpiled monstrous quantities of weapons with the backing of Iran — all while the Lebanese government served as a powerless front for international legitimacy.
This arrangement ultimately collapsed when Hezbollah’s presence in Lebanon was smashed by Israel in a war that crippled its infrastructure and territorial control. Today, the Lebanese government is showing the first signs of actual sovereignty, confiscating terror-financing money flowing in through Beirut’s airport and banning suspicious Iranian flights. It still has a very long way to go.
Hamas would likely seek to replicate Hezbollah’s former setup in Gaza. If successful, this would allow it to rebuild its military capabilities while keeping Israel diplomatically constrained from taking decisive action.
Any attempt by Israel to neutralize Hamas in such a scenario would be met with international outcry over violating the sovereignty of the “recognized governing authority” of Gaza — even if that authority had no real power. Any international peacekeeping force would suffer the same fate as UNIFIL in Lebanon, and be reduced to a toothless observer that is used by terrorists as human shields in exchanges of fire with Israel.
The consequences of such an outcome would be disastrous. Hamas would use the time bought by a ceasefire to rearm with weapons from Iran, smuggle in military technology, and likely begin rebuilding its tunnel and rocket system. Under the cover of an internationally approved governing body, Hamas could enhance its military capabilities with impunity. This is precisely what Hezbollah did in Lebanon: amassing a vast arsenal while using the Lebanese government as a shield against Israeli action.
As a result, the only viable path forward is for Israel to, sooner or later, return to combat in Gaza, hold territory this time, and gain full military and political control over the Strip for several months at a minimum.
This is necessary to ensure:
- The total destruction of Hamas’ military and political regime — Without completely dismantling Hamas’ command structure, leadership, and armed forces, any governing arrangement will be meaningless. As long as Hamas retains its weapons and operational capability, it will be the de facto ruler of Gaza, and Gazans will never cooperate with any post-Hamas vision.
- A long-term Israeli security presence with full operational freedom — Any future governance arrangement must allow Israel to conduct counterterrorism operations inside Gaza anywhere, at any time, without restriction. This means full security oversight, with the IDF maintaining the ability to both strike Hamas remnants from the ground, air, and sea, and prevent the group’s rearmament. Gaza must become a version of Area A in Judea and Samaria, where the IDF operates nightly to prevent Iran and Hamas from building a terror army that would threaten central Israel.
Only after these conditions are met can a moderate autonomy — backed by Gulf states and the United States — be considered as a possible governance structure for Gaza. Even then, Israel must retain full security freedom of operation to prevent any resurgence of terrorism.
Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He provides insight and analysis for a number of media outlets, including Jane’s Defense Weekly and JNS.org. A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.
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US Vetoes UN Security Council Demand for Gaza Ceasefire
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from Israel, June 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council demand on Wednesday for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote.
“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas,” she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
The remaining 14 council members voted in favor of the draft resolution.
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. It has renewed its military offensive in Gaza – also seeking to free hostages held by Hamas – since ending a two-month ceasefire in March.
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel in an Oct. 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave.
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Trump Picks Lawyer Who Called Oct. 7 Attack a ‘Psyop’ to Lead Federal Watchdog Agency
Paul Ingrassia. Photo: Screenshot
Paul Ingrassia, a 29-year-old lawyer who was recently nominated by US President Donald Trump to lead a federal agency dedicated to combating corruption and protecting whistleblowers, seemingly dismissed the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2o23, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a “psyop,” or “psychological operation, in resurfaced social media posts.
“This ‘war’ is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day,” Ingrassia wrote on X/Twitter on Oct. 8, 2023.
“I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was another psyop,” he posted a week later. “But sadly, people fell for it. And they’ll fall for the next one too.”
On the actual day of the Oct. 7 massacre, Ingrassia compared illegal immigration into the US to the Hamas-led onslaught.
“The amount of energy everyone has put into condemning Hamas (and prior to that, the Ukraine conflict) over the past 24 hours should be the same amount of energy we put into condemning our wide open border, which is a war comparable to the attack on Israel in terms of bloodshed — but made worse by the fact that it’s occurring in our very own backyard,” he posted. “We shouldn’t be beating the war drum, however tragic the events may be overseas, until we resolve our domestic problems first.”
Trump announced last week that he picked Ingrassia to serve as head of the US Office of Special Counsel, a position that requires confirmation by the Senate.
The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal ethics agency that works to ensure fairness and accountability within the government. Ingrassia’s role, if he is confirmed, would involve investigating claims of wrongdoing, such as retaliation against whistleblowers or improper political activity in the workplace. The official can recommend disciplinary action and reports serious findings to Congress, helping to protect federal employees and uphold the integrity of the civil service system.
Ingrassia also maintains a relationship with and defends alleged sex trafficker Andrew Tate, who has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media. Tate wrote on X/Twitter that he refuses to “listen to women, Mexicans, or Jews” and that Jewish people are “subverting Western populations into mass genetic suicide” by advancing what he described as misguided immigration policy. Tate has also accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in Gaza against Palestinians and engaged in Holocaust denialism.
The furor surrounding Ingrassia is the latest dustup the Trump administration has had regarding controversial personnel and antisemitism.
The Trump administration’s appointment of Kingsley Wilson as deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense also sparked widespread criticism due to her history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories and extremist views. Wilson, formerly associated with the Center for Renewing America, has a documented history of social media posts endorsing white supremacist ideologies, including claims about the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank — a Jewish man whose wrongful conviction and subsequent murder galvanized the founding of the Anti-Defamation League. In 2023, she tweeted that Frank “raped & murdered a 13-year-old girl,” a statement aligning with neo-Nazi narratives.
Late last month, the Pentagon announced that Wilson will be promoted and serve as the department’s new press secretary.
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US Congress Pushes to Designate Muslim Brotherhood as a Terrorist Organization
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at a press conference about the United States restricting weapons for Israel, at the US Capitol, Washington, DC. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Members of the US Congress are moving quickly to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as an official terrorist organization.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced on Tuesday that he will reintroduce an updated version of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act.
“In the coming days, I will be circulating and re-introducing a modernized version of the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act, which I have been pushing for my entire Senate career,” he posted on X/Twitter. “The Muslim Brotherhood used the Biden administration to consolidate and deepen their influence, but the Trump administration and Republican Congress can no longer afford to avoid the threat they pose to Americans and American national security.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday asking US President Donald Trump to open an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that the group maintains “a documented history of promoting extremist ideologies.”
“Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE all declared the Muslim Brotherhood an FTO [foriegn terrorist organization] over a decade ago, and France is considering its own action. Following suit would help the US disrupt the Muslim Brotherhood’s ability to recruit and finance terror around the globe,” Moskowitz wrote on X/Twitter.
The push to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood gained momentum last month, when the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) organized a meeting to help members of Congress develop “strategies to ban the growing threat of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States,” the research group said in a press release.
“The Muslim Brotherhood appears to be the intellectual inspiration behind all Islamist groups (and their jihadist offshoots) that operate today, such as ISIS, al Qaeda, and Hamas,” ISGAP wrote in a 2023 report. “Sunni jihadist groups are grounded in the firm ideological roots that key MB [Muslim Brotherhood] ideologues pioneered in the last century.”
Hamas, the internationally designated terrorist group that has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades and perpetrated the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust with its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, is a Palestinian offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Both Cruz and Moskowitz noted that Hamas is a “branch” and an “affiliate” of the global Islamist movement.
While several countries in the Middle East have already classified the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, the United States has yet to do the same, despite several attempts by Congress over the years. During Trump’s first term in office, officials in both the White House and Congress took initial steps toward sanctioning the group’s international branches, but a formal designation was never finalized.
US lawmakers believe they have identified multiple pathways to economically cripple the internationally designated terror organization. Congress could combat the Muslim Brotherhood by designating it a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) or placing it on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list. Both options would levy heavy penalties on the group through methods such as freezing its assets or sanctioning its leadership.
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