Israel inflicted serious damage on Hamas with airstrikes this week that killed its Gaza government chief and other top officials, but Palestinian and Israeli sources say the group has shown it can absorb major losses and still fight and govern.
After its main Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar was killed in October, it moved to a leadership council, less reliant on a single figure, Hamas sources said. As its rocket arsenal was reduced, it refocused on guerrilla warfare, while both its military and political wings switched to using human messengers to avoid electronic spying.
The latest Israeli strikes were mainly aimed at weakening Hamas' ability to rule in Gaza, signalling a major new round of military attacks that the group has so far responded to with only a few rockets fired at Tel Aviv.
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