Senior IDF officials confirm that nearly the entire upper echelon of the terror group has been eliminated. “They wanted to leave on ships—now they’d be lucky to fill a paddleboat.” Hamas officials concede that the terror group controls at most 20% of the territory, as the Israeli army approaches lines that represent 75% control and command over key routes and crossings.

By Richard Koret | July 7, 2025

In what may become the closing chapter of Hamas’s rule over Gaza, senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials now believe that Yahya Sinwar and the remainder of Hamas’s senior leadership on October 7 are either dead or buried deep in collapsed tunnels. According to sources within IDF Intelligence and the Shin Bet security service, decapitation of Hamas’s command is nearly total.

“There are not enough Hamas leaders left to exile on a ship,” one senior IDF commander said with dry irony. “Maybe a paddle boat—if you can still find one in Gaza.” The comment, widely circulated in Israeli media, reflects the growing confidence among Israeli military and political leadership that Hamas’s rule is finished.

Operation Swords of Iron: From Defense to Decapitation

Since the October 7th massacre of over 1,200 Israelis by Hamas-led terrorists, the IDF has launched its most comprehensive military campaign since 1948. Operation Swords of Iron has evolved from large-scale aerial bombardments and infantry advances into a focused and lethal manhunt for Hamas’s political and military elite.

Alongside Sinwar, killed earlier in 2025, were many of Hamas’s “tier one” commanders—including Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, and Raad Saad. Signals intelligence from Unit 8200 intercepted distress communications during the final hours of the tunnel collapse, believed to be between Deif and other senior figures. The communications abruptly ceased.

IDF sources say that it controls nearly 75% of Gaza’s territory. “The so-called leadership of Hamas is either dead, on the run, or irrelevant. Gaza is now governed more by chaos and clan law than by any organized regime.”

Hamas’s Dream of Escape Is Dead

In early stages of the war, regional actors such as Qatar and Turkey reportedly explored the possibility of granting safe passage to Hamas leaders in exchange for a ceasefire and partial hostage release. Among the options considered: exile by ship from Port Said, or airlift through Egypt. That window has closed.

“We will not allow a second Beirut,” said Defense Minister Israel Katz, referring to Israel’s 1982 agreement to let PLO leadership evacuate Lebanon by ship. “This time, justice will be served in Gaza. There will be no reprieve for the architects of terror.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was even more blunt. “There is no vessel large enough to carry away the guilt of what Hamas has done. And as it turns out, there are hardly any leaders left to carry.”

Clans Rise, Order Collapses

As Hamas disintegrates, Gaza is increasingly governed by armed clans and local family networks. These groups, some of whom were historically marginalized by Hamas’s Islamist agenda, are now asserting their authority in areas vacated by retreating fighters.

Israeli officials are cautiously exploring limited coordination with several of these clans, including the Abu Shabab faction, operating from Judea and Samaria. Yasser Abu Shabab, a secular nationalist and rival to Hamas, is reportedly working to organize a temporary tribal council with Israeli knowledge.

“It’s not about supporting them,” an IDF Civil Administration officer said. “It’s about preventing total collapse and humanitarian breakdown. These clans know the streets better than anyone, and for now, they’re a stabilizing force.”

The IDF continues to provide humanitarian corridors, secure aid convoys, and facilitate reconstruction efforts—despite being in an active warzone. International aid groups, though critical of Israeli tactics, increasingly acknowledge that Hamas has been the main barrier to sustained aid delivery.

The People of Gaza: From Fear to Rage

Perhaps the most significant development has come from within the Gaza Strip itself. Since March, thousands of Gazans have staged unprecedented protests against Hamas, demanding an end to the war and the resignation—or death—of its leaders. Chants of “Sinwar butchered our future” and “We want life, not tunnels” have echoed through Khan Yunis and central Gaza.

Hamas responded with repression, but the tide had turned. Reports from underground human rights monitors confirm that even longtime Hamas supporters now speak of betrayal and devastation. “They ruled us with guns and fear,” one refugee told Israeli officials at the Kerem Shalom crossing. “Now they hide like rats and leave us in the rubble.”

Netanyahu: “We Will Not Stop”

As international media and foreign powers begin discussing Gaza’s postwar governance, Netanyahu remains clear: Hamas will not be part of Gaza’s future.

“We will not stop until every tunnel is destroyed, every rocket launcher dismantled, and every trace of Hamas erased,” Netanyahu said in a fiery Knesset address. “The war may be long, but it is righteous. And when it ends, we will have secured not only our borders—but our children’s future.”

The IDF, for its part, remains on high alert. Intelligence suggests that Islamic Jihad and smaller terror groups may try to fill the vacuum. But with every passing week, it becomes increasingly clear: Hamas’s empire of fear is no more. Its leaders—dead or buried—will not return.

As one senior IDF officer told Yedioth Ahronoth, summing up the mood in the General Staff: “They dreamed of martyrdom. We obliged them. Now Gaza belongs to its people—not its jailers.”