Overview
- Senior Hamas figures met U.N. humanitarian coordinator Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov and instructed him to tell Israeli authorities they were prepared to carry out another attack like October 7, the message that was passed to COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevy.
- Israeli officials treated the U.N.-relayed warning as unusually direct and circulated an urgent intelligence and security briefing to senior political and defense leaders on Thursday.
- The message did not include a date, locations, or operational details, and there is no public verification that Hamas currently has the capacity to replicate the scale of the October 7, 2023 assault.
- Israeli military actions targeting Hamas commanders and the elite Nukhba force, plus U.S. sanctions on fundraising networks, have increased financial and operational strain on Hamas, which Israeli assessments say needs about NIS 90 million a month to pay roughly 30,000 personnel.
- International mediators are pressing for Hamas to disarm while Israel refuses to allow a proposed technocratic governing committee or a Palestinian police force into Gaza, a stalemate that could prolong conflict risks and sustain heightened security measures for civilians on both sides.