Does Hamas Still Rule Gaza?
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Today on State of the World, does Hamas still rule Gaza?

You're listening to State of the World from NPR, the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Wednesday, January 22nd. I'm Greg Dixon. When Israel went to war in Gaza following the attacks on Israel 15 months ago, the explicit goal was to remove Hamas from power. So the question now is, did they? It's still early days in the ceasefire, but so far it seems Hamas is still a strong presence in the territory.

NPR's Greg Myrie in Tel Aviv tells us about who seems to be taking charge in Gaza right now and whether there are any alternatives to Hamas. He spoke to Juana Summers. So, Greg, just start, if you could, by describing the Hamas presence in Gaza right now.

Well, it's substantial. Members of the Gaza police force, which is run by Hamas, are now on the streets in their uniforms. They had been in civilian clothes during the fighting in an attempt to evade the Israeli military. But we've seen examples like this since the ceasefire took effect Sunday. Hamas militants are also visible today.

We saw masked Hamas gunmen drive into the center of Gaza City and hand over the three Israeli women hostages. So Hamas is very much reasserting its public presence in Gaza, which it has ruled since 2007. Israel killed many Hamas leaders during the fighting. So tell us who does lead Hamas now?

Yeah, no one person is the clear leader. Hamas has generally, historically had a collective leadership, some inside Gaza, some in exile. Now, Israel killed the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, in October. His brother, Mohammad Sinwar, is now seen as playing a top role, at least in the armed wing of the group. And Hamas hasn't said publicly who their top leaders in Gaza are, presumably to help protect them from possible attack by Israel.

But there certainly seems to be a functioning leadership in Gaza. We should note that it is hard to judge the Hamas level of support. There are certainly critics. We spoke by phone to one man in Gaza, Abu Ali, who simply scoffed when we asked him about Hamas's claim that it considers the war a victory. Al-Harbadi.

So he's saying that with this war, we went back 50 years. There are no hospitals, no schools, no electricity network. If we get one more victory like this, we'll all be gone. Greg, tell us, is Israel proposing an alternative to Hamas?

You know, it really hasn't, Juana, and this has been a question since the beginning of the war, and yet Israel has never offered a concrete plan other than saying it won't be Hamas. There's been some vague talk about an international coalition serving in an interim role, but it's never really gone beyond that. Now, the Biden administration raised the possibility of Gaza being run by the Palestinian Authority, which nominally runs Palestinian affairs in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority or the PA says it's willing, but it isn't seen as realistic right now. The PA is weak, unpopular, and it's seen as corrupt.

Hamas drove the PA out of Gaza in heavy street battles back in 2007. And the PA is led by Mahmoud Abbas, who turns 90 years old this year. And I spoke about this with Ali Jarbowi. He's a Palestinian political analyst in the West Bank. He says Hamas has been talking about some limited compromises, but it's still the dominant force in Gaza. Thank you.

You cannot move forward without Hamas's acceptance of something. They are in control on the ground. They cannot rule on their own, but they can obstruct anybody else from ruling without their acceptance. So, Greg, where does that leave us? Is Hamas likely to remain in power just by default?

Yeah, that's really the most likely scenario right now. Israel and Hamas have just fought repeatedly over the past two decades, and this was by far the biggest battle yet. And Israel insisted this time would be different. They wouldn't allow Hamas to remain on its border and threaten Israel. Yet right now, there's no realistic alternative to Hamas rule other than perhaps an indefinite Israeli military presence in Gaza. That's NPR's Greg Myhre. Thank you. Sure thing, Juana.

That's the state of the world from NPR. Yesterday's episode featured scenes of Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza. If you missed it, you can find that in our feed. And you can find much more coverage of this conflict at npr.org slash mid-east updates. Thank you for listening.

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