There have been some unsettling developments in the Gaza Strip this weekend, suggesting a situation that many analysts had previously warned us about. Israel has been portraying the assault on Rafah as essentially being the "last stand" for Hamas, where the IDF would take out the terrorist group's four remaining battalions of fighters. But yesterday, fighting broke out in Jabaliya and Gaza City in the northern part of the Strip that Israel had cleared months ago. The IDF was attacked in multiple locations. Some of the attackers may have been Hamas fighters that were missed in the original clearing efforts while others were clearly new members to their ranks. In either case, this appears to be a clear demonstration that more work will remain to be done even after Israel cleans out Rafah. (Associated Press)

Israeli forces were battling Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in parts of the devastated north that the military said it had cleared months ago, where Hamas has exploited a security vacuum to regroup.

Israel has portrayed the southern Gaza city of Rafah as Hamas’ last stronghold, saying it must invade in order to succeed in its goals of dismantling the group and returning scores of hostages. A limited operation there has expanded in recent days, forcing some 300,000 people to flee.

But the rest of the war-ravaged territory seems to provide ample opportunities for Hamas. Israel has yet to offer a detailed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, saying only that it will maintain open-ended security control over the coastal enclave, which is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.

These dangerous developments speak to a couple of realities about Hamas and the Palestinians, along with the risks that Israel's current strategy presents. As the IDF moves into each stronghold, they attempt to root out and capture or kill as many of Hamas' uniformed fighters as they can find. At the same time, they attempt to deflect damage away from the supposedly "innocent Palestinian civilians" as best they can. But it's clear that at least some of the Hamas fighters are taking off their uniforms and slipping away with the civilians, only to regroup later after the IDF moves on. The IDF has excellent intelligence sources inside of Gaza and they know who many of the Hamas fighters are, but they can't recognize and identify them all at a moment's notice in the midst of the fog of war. Some of them will inevitably get away.

Next, take note of the language that the reporters on the ground are using. They speak of attacks launched by "Palestinian militants." That represents a distinct difference from "Hamas fighters." Some of those supposedly "innocent Palestinian civilians" are clearly seeing Hamas being destroyed and making the decision to take up arms and replenish their ranks. As we've long known, the Gazans are indoctrinated from the moment they learn to walk and they are taught to hate the Jews and fight to destroy Israel. At least some of them appear to be taking the opportunity to put their training to use.

It's true that Hamas has been the cause of much of the misery that the people of the Gaza Strip have suffered. They provide no infrastructure or critical supplies and divert most of the aid that arrives to their own uses and store it in their tunnels. But the people of Gaza chose Hamas to lead them when they had the chance to hold an election. Perhaps there are many of them that would prefer not to have to fight, but now that the fighting has reached their doorstep, they need to pick a side. Clearly, that's an easy choice for many and they are sticking with Hamas.

The myth of the "peaceful Palestinians" who need to be protected from the ravaging forces of Israel is precisely that... a myth. The Associated Press goes out of its way to point out that, "Israel has yet to offer a detailed plan for postwar governance in Gaza." That's because "postwar Gaza" is going to look essentially like prewar Gaza. The fundamental culture underlying the existence of Hamas isn't going to go away. It may be driven underground for a time, but the end goal of the Gazan people will almost certainly remain unchanged. They don't want a two-state solution. They want a "Final Solution," as Hitler described it. And they share a great deal in common with Hitler. Israel's allies and partners need to be much more cognizant of that reality.