Blinken says Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost
The Islamist movement Hamas has already recruited as many new members as it lost during the war against Israel, said United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, quoted by The Telegraph.
“Each time Israel completes its military operations and pulls back Hamas, militants regroup and re-emerge because there’s nothing else to fill the void. We assess that Hamas has recruited almost as many new militants as it has lost,” Blinken said in a speech at the Atlantic Council.
Blinken's statement came after he unveiled the post-war plan for the Gaza Strip. It involves the deployment of foreign troops to keep the peace until a new Palestinian administration is formed and trained.
War in the Gaza Strip
In 2023, Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip after Hamas attacked the country, resulting in numerous casualties and abductions.
For a long time, negotiations between Tel Aviv and the Islamist movement were fruitless, but recently the media reported that the Israeli delegation expressed moderate optimism about a possible agreement.
Yesterday, January 14, The Times of Israel reported that Hamas supported the draft agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.