'Hamas is recovering': Military pressure not enough to eradicate Hamas, says expert

Applying military pressure on Hamas may no longer be sufficient for Israel's war effort, Eyal Ofer, an expert on Hamas's economy, told 103FM on Sunday. 

He noted that the military pressure applied by Israel "since January is not enough. The state itself admitted this when it submitted an affidavit to the High Court," which acknowledged it was not in control of Gaza. 

"We need to focus on the biggest spin of all, that there is nothing left to do in Gaza. This is not the case at all," Ofer stated. 

He further noted, "Among the hundreds of thousands who remain there [in the Gaza Strip], there are hundreds of thousands of terrorists; this is the problem and the most important thing for Hamas."

'Hamas is recovering'

He specified that in the north of the Gaza Strip, "Hamas is recovering." He further noted that the proposed hostage deal would allow a "million Gazans to arrive in Gaza City." 

He affirmed that Israel had to evacuate the people of Gaza City in order to eradicate the terror infrastructure in the area. 

"We need to conduct a military campaign there in which the population is directed to the south," he said. 

"The time has come for the IDF to show determination and seriousness" in its evacuation notices, and these people will eventually, like the other 700,000, mostly leave," he added. 

"It is clear that we will not go down to the last terrorist and that any alternative government we introduce will depend on Hamas because Hamas has tremendous military power, but strategically, what is important to us is the north of the Strip, and we can put pressure on them there," he concluded.