Hamas has lost around 80 per cent of its control over the Gaza Strip, according to a senior member of its internal security forces.
Speaking to BBC News, the unnamed lieutenant colonel explained that the group’s “command and control system” has “collapsed” under Israeli bombardment.
In anonymised voice messages, he said: “Let's be realistic here - there's barely anything left of the security structure.
"Most of the leadership, about 95%, are now dead... The active figures have all been killed. So really, what's stopping Israel from continuing this war?
“Logically, it has to continue until the end. All the conditions are aligned: Israel has the upper hand, the world is silent, the Arab regimes are silent, criminal gangs are everywhere, society is collapsing.”
He also revealed that the power vacuum left by the war has been filled by a number of armed clans and gangs.
"About the security situation, let me be clear: it has completely collapsed. Totally gone. There's no control anywhere,” he said, adding: “ [The clans] could stop you, kill you. No one would intervene. Anyone who tried to act on their own, like organising resistance against thieves, was bombed by Israel within half an hour.
"So, the security situation is zero. Hamas' control is zero. There's no leadership, no command, no communication. Salaries are delayed, and when they do arrive, they're barely usable. Some die just trying to collect them. It's total collapse."
And it was reported in June that some of these clans have received backing from Israel, with Jerusalem apparently supplying weapons to ISIS-linked “crime families” in the Strip to destabilise the Hamas government.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not deny the reports at the time, saying only: “Israel is working to defeat Hamas in various ways on the recommendation of all heads of the security establishment.”
It is believed that the weapons were supplied to a clan led by Yasser Abu Shabab, with the security officer confirming that Hamas had placed a significant price on his head and was “willing to do anything” to assassinate him due fears that he could unify opposition forces.
"Hamas would ignore ordinary thieves. People are hungry and [the fighters] don't want to provoke more chaos. But this guy? If the Hamas fighters find him, they might go after him instead of Israeli tanks.
“For 17 years, Hamas made enemies everywhere. If someone like Abu Shabab can rally those forces, that could be the beginning of the end for us.”
