It will take years to rebuild Gaza's critical infrastructure, as nearly 60% of all buildings have been damaged or destroyed, per CNN. Hamas, not so much. Militants rallied within hours of the ceasefire going into effect Sunday, riding through the streets in clean uniforms and dust-free pickup trucks, waving Hamas flags and automatic rifles. The message directed at Israel was clear: "They were steadfast on the ground for 470 days," yet "they didn't succeed" in their goal to eliminate Hamas as a whole, the New York Times quotes one senior Hamas official as saying.
One Gaza resident said the militants "came out of hiding in a snap of a finger." They gathered in a square to hand hostages to the Red Cross, guarded aid trucks, and directed traffic, residents said. Meanwhile, municipalities that coordinate with Hamas sent workers to clear rubble and trash and check out the damage. Though thousands of Hamas militants have been killed, including senior leadership, and its weapons factories destroyed, "it's totally clear that it can impose its sovereignty everywhere in Gaza," Michael Milshtein, an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at Tel Aviv University, tells the Times.
Analysts say Hamas hopes to impart that it must have a role in Palestinian affairs after the war is over, though it may wish to distance itself from administration, instead opting to remain the top security power—"a dynamic that would be similar to Hezbollah's role in Lebanon before its last conflict with Israel," per the Times. But Israel objects, and some residents fear another war and a direct occupation will come eventually if Hamas remains in power. Fifteen months of war have been enough: Gaza is now "a wasteland of rubble," per the Times of Israel. More than 70,000 Gazans had likely been killed as of October, per CNN, citing a Lancet study. According to CNN, 90% of people have been displaced and 91% are facing a hunger crisis. (More Gaza stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
