As Elite Operations Surge, How Does al-Qassam Keep Recruiting Thousands of Fighters?

“Israel” has unleashed hundreds of thousands of tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip, repeatedly invading its governorates, starving the population, and committing horrific massacres that have claimed over 60,000 lives. Despite this, the Resistance grows stronger and more determined, as if the battle to repel the aggression is only just beginning.

More than twenty-one months of bombing and destruction have passed. Thousands of fighters have died, but the ranks of the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza continue to grow at an impressive rate.

Renewable Reservoir

What is remarkable in this repeated scene is the endless and renewing human reservoir of the Resistance even in the darkest moments of siege, displacement, and famine.

Recruitment never stops. Resistance operations ranging from direct combat to attempts to capture enemy soldiers increase in both number and sophistication. Meanwhile, the Israeli Occupation army appears trapped in an attrition war with no clear end in sight.

The growing number of fighters, the ongoing resistance, and the flow of dead, injured, and disabled Israeli soldiers from Gaza into occupied territory have shocked Israeli society.

Hebrew media question how the Israeli army, which claims to have killed 23,000 Hamas fighters out of an estimated 25,000–30,000, now faces thousands more fighters with greater intensity. Where are they coming from? How do they keep emerging?

Official Israeli estimates reported by Haaretz on May 26, 2025, put Hamas’s fighters at around 40,000. The movement has succeeded in recruiting thousands more into its military wing during the war, supported by a popular base numbering hundreds of thousands inside Gaza.

Given this reality, the idea that Hamas’s military wing is being depleted is unrealistic, at least in the near future according to the newspaper.

Two U.S. congressional sources briefed on U.S. intelligence reported that Hamas recruited between 10,000 and 15,000 new fighters from the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza until January 2025.

On Jan. 14, then-President Joe Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States believed Hamas had recruited almost as many fighters as it had lost in the Palestinian enclave, cautioning that this was a “recipe for an enduring insurgency and perpetual war.”

The signs of failure in this campaign of extermination do not stop at the growing number of resistance fighters. Even more alarming to “Israel” is the increasing boldness of the fighters. According to the Israeli Occupation army, they no longer limit themselves to planting explosives and detonating them remotely. Instead, they emerge from the rubble to engage in direct combat.

They have seized the initiative and the element of surprise, repeatedly trying to kidnap soldiers.

Solid Structure

Hamas’s resilience is deeply rooted in its strong and interconnected military structure, led foremost by its extensive tunnel network, which remains its greatest strategic advantage.

An April 2025 report by Israeli Channel 12 revealed that the Israeli army has destroyed only 25 percent of Hamas’s tunnels. Retired Israeli Brigadier General Yitzhak Brik admitted that less than 10 percent were destroyed during eighteen months of fighting, calling this a “strategic failure.”

Brik explained that these tunnels allowed fighters to move, hide, reposition, and transport weapons without exposure to airstrikes or ambushes. This underground infrastructure absorbed Israeli attacks and enabled continuous arms production despite ongoing bombardments.

He added that “Israel’s” strategy to wear down Hamas’s manpower has failed so far. Hamas has demonstrated rare resilience and renewal, backed by widespread popular support, a flexible fighting force, and well-planned guerrilla tactics. To Brik, the idea of uprooting Hamas remains little more than a military fantasy.

“Rather than indulging in fantasy, the political leadership must get all hostages released, without imposing conditions that Hamas would never accept anyway. It must stop the war that has lost all purpose and focus on rebuilding Israel, its economy, its social cohesiveness, its international relations, and its military,” he wrote on Haaretz.

The Palestinian Resistance has also resumed manufacturing weapons locally. Israeli intelligence reports cited by Yedioth Ahronoth in May 2025 revealed that the al-Qassam Brigades restarted production of offensive and defensive arms, including bombs made inside buildings and streets.

Though limited, they have even produced homemade rocket shells, continuing a long-standing policy of self-sufficiency.

Researcher Zakarya al-Salaseh told Al-Estiklal that “Israel” is facing a growing military failure, clearly seen in Hamas’s ability to recruit and mobilize fighters despite months of intense conflict.

Al-Salaseh noted a consensus within Israeli security circles that every Palestinian fighter killed is immediately replaced, making it impossible to eliminate Hamas’s military wing, especially the al-Qassam Brigades.

“Hamas is deeply rooted socially and organizationally in Gaza, supported by a broad popular base that sustains its manpower,” he said.

“Areas repeatedly invaded by Israeli forces, like Khan Younis, Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and Shuja’iyya, witness fiercer resistance each time, despite repeated Israeli claims of clearing them.”

Al-Salaseh confirmed that al-Qassam’s combat and tactical capabilities have markedly improved, explaining the frequent close-range clashes despite the Israeli Occupation's advanced drones, thermal radars, and smart surveillance systems.

He also pointed out that the Israeli army leadership seeks to end the war at any cost, having lost confidence in achieving strategic goals through continued fighting.

The researcher said the army understands that for every fighter killed, another appears, and for every tunnel destroyed, a new one is built. The war on Gaza has become a war of attrition, draining both manpower and morale.

He added that the success of soldier kidnappings, despite some being foiled, remains a constant concern for Israeli commanders and could shift the balance if repeated.

Regarding “Israel’s” home front, al-Salaseh noted unprecedented exhaustion in the army, with growing soldier discontent over fighting only to keep Benjamin Netanyahu in power.

He highlighted that exemptions for Haredi Jews from military service have increased rebellion and refusal among soldiers.

The researcher pointed out that Israeli intelligence reports confirm the Resistance has already restarted workshops producing weapons, bombs, and shells, opening the door to a new phase of protracted attrition warfare, the scariest scenario for the Israeli military establishment.

The Weapon of Revenge

Observers believe that the steadfastness of the Resistance and the rise in guerrilla operations stem not only from the solid organizational structure of the Palestinian Resistance’s military wings but also from the tragedies endured by the Palestinian people, which fuel their determination to confront the Israeli Occupation.

“The Israeli massacres and daily crimes are the primary source sustaining the Resistance and fueling the continuous flow of young people joining its ranks. They accumulate a deep-seated desire for revenge and long-lasting hatred that will endure for generations. This backlash is the exact opposite of what the Israeli Occupation hoped to achieve by trying to intimidate the Palestinian people,” Palestinian activist Khalil Hassoun told Al-Estiklal.

“We still see threats and warnings from all ages immediately after Israeli massacres. The hatred and thirst for revenge are clear in their eyes.”

“At the same time, we witness the intensification of the Resistance, growing numbers of fighters, and an increase in operations, including more frequent martyrdom operations in recent months. All this is a direct result of the pain and oppression the Israeli Occupation has sown deep within our hearts,” he added.

“Resistance operations also serve as a vital source of inspiration for Hamas, encouraging further acts of resistance and attracting fighters who see that Zionist hatred and crimes are only punished through these operations.”

Hassoun pointed out that “young men, armed with the simplest homemade weapons, are turning Merkava 4 tanks into burning scrap heaps with scorched occupying soldiers inside, an image that inspires thousands of young Palestinians, not only in Gaza but across the entire Islamic world.”

“Every morning in front of my tent in Mawasi al-Qarara, I watch displaced children playing on the sand dunes. They enact the resistance in teams and refuse to play the role of the Israeli Occupation. They name themselves after resistance brigades and the areas they were displaced from.”

“They imitate al-Qassam videos, use sticks they call ‘al-Yassin 105,’ bottles named ‘Suicide Bomb,’ and metal containers called ‘Shawath devices.’ They craft wooden rifles and pretend to engage in battles where the youngest, smallest child is the kidnap target, as if he were a soldier in the Israeli Occupation army.”

“Watching them, I think of the deep hatred they carry. None of these children has been spared from bombardment, killing, or injury. Skin diseases are visible on them, and their bodies are severely wasted by starvation. They have had no schooling for two years, and most have lost the ability to read and write,” the Palestinian activist said.

“Despite all this, they spend half their day fetching water, food, and firewood. The other half is spent playing out scenes of revenge against those who brought them to this situation.”

“The idea of resistance today is at its peak strength and necessity. This is why resistance factions recover quickly from any Israeli strike, fighters keep joining, operations increase, and weapons production continues. The future clearly belongs to them,” Hassoun added.