Why Hamas Refuses to Give Up: news analysis

 

They learned from Israel’s history. The Nakba, meaning "catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Palestine war.

 

It resulted in the expulsion or flight of more than 750,000 Palestinians and the destruction of over 500 villages and urban neighborhoods.

 

 

Background and causes

 

    Zionism and colonialism: For decades before 1948, the Zionist movement promoted the "transfer" of the Palestinian population to create a Jewish state. The British-controlled Mandatory Palestine was a multiethnic society with a predominantly Arab population before mass Jewish immigration increased tensions.

    UN Partition Plan: In November 1947, the UN General Assembly approved a plan to partition Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem under international control.

        The plan allocated 55% of the territory to the proposed Jewish state, even though Palestinians constituted two-thirds of the total population and owned the majority of the land.

        The Arab Higher Committee and Arab League rejected the plan, arguing it violated the right of self-determination.

        Most Zionist leaders accepted the plan, viewing it as a step toward further expansion.

    Outbreak of war: Following the UN resolution, fighting broke out between Zionist militias and Palestinian Arabs. The intensity increased in May 1948 with the end of the British Mandate, the declaration of the State of Israel, and the entry of neighboring Arab armies.

 

Events of the Nakba

 

    Systematic expulsion: Zionist paramilitary groups, and later the Israeli military, conducted large-scale attacks to expel Palestinians and achieve a Jewish majority. Most historians now agree that expulsions, violence, and fear were the primary causes of the mass exodus.

 

    Tactics of fear and violence: Israeli forces used psychological warfare, including radio broadcasts and whispering campaigns, to instill panic. They also committed massacres in villages such as Deir Yassin, which caused widespread fear and prompted many to flee.

 

    Destruction of villages: More than 500 Palestinian villages were systematically depopulated and destroyed during and after the war to prevent refugees from returning. Palestinian properties were widely looted by Israeli soldiers and civilians.

 

Consequences and legacy

   

    You cannot step into the same river twice. Now the Palestinians are fighting nonstop.

    Now whatever the Israelis do in similar way, goes online for everybody to see.

    The refugee crisis: Over 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. They and their descendants now number millions and live in camps in neighboring countries like Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, as well as in the West Bank and Gaza.

    Fragmented society: The Nakba shattered Palestinian society, displacing its political and intellectual leadership and breaking down social structures.

    Ongoing displacement: The Nakba did not end in 1948. Palestinians continue to be displaced through Israeli policies, and the events of 1948 are seen as foundational to the ongoing conflict.

    Right of return: The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 194 in December 1948, which resolved that refugees wishing to return to their homes should be permitted to do so. However, Israel has rejected the Palestinian right of return, stating it would compromise its identity as a Jewish state.

    Commemoration: Palestinians commemorate the Nakba annually on May 15, the day after Israel's Independence Day. In 1998, Yasser Arafat officially designated it a national day of remembrance. For Palestinians, the Nakba remains a central part of their collective memory and national identity.

They say : “No more Nakba.”

 

“Analysts say that despite its vast losses in Gaza, Hamas believes it can hold out for a deal that ensures its survival.

 

Israel has killed thousands of Hamas’s fighters, taken out most of its senior military command and destroyed much of its arsenal and underground tunnel network.

 

The country’s relentless military campaign has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, cities have been reduced to rubble, and people have struggled daily to find enough food, water and electricity.

 

And yet Hamas has refused to surrender. The group wants to secure its future in Gaza, but its unwillingness to give up to Israel and disarm is also rooted in its ideology.

 

Since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which ignited the war in Gaza, the group’s leaders have acknowledged that the resulting Israeli counterattack has caused enormous destruction. But they have said it is a “price” Palestinians must pay for their ultimate freedom.

 

In interviews, some Hamas leaders have said that the group’s calculation was less about defeating Israel on the battlefield, and more about drawing the government into an intractable conflict, one that isolates it diplomatically and undermines its international support. Eventually, they say, Israel will be compelled to realize that its policies toward Palestinians are not sustainable.

 

“Surrender, as Israel and America are calling for it, is not in Hamas’s dictionary,” said Khaled al-Hroub, a professor at Northwestern University in Qatar who has written books about the group.

 

Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’s military wing, said recently that if he cannot get what he described as an honorable deal to end the war with Israel, then the conflict would become a war of liberation or the group would face “martyrdom,” according to a senior Middle Eastern intelligence official familiar with Mr. al-Haddad’s thinking.

 

What Hamas considers to be an “honorable deal” is an agreement that could lead to the end of the war and enable the group to continue wielding power in Gaza.

 

Hamas has previously agreed to temporary cease-fires with Israel in part to provide relief to people in Gaza. But it has firmly rejected ending the war on terms set by Israel, which has demanded the group disarm and send its leaders into exile, and has shown a willingness to tolerate the ongoing suffering of civilians in pursuit of the deal that it wants.

 

There are no suggestions that Hamas’s position is shifting. This week, it released a statement reiterating that it was ready to accept a deal that would see the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners, an end to the war and a withdrawal of Israeli forces.

 

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas by force or dismantle it through negotiation, and has rebuffed any deal on the end of the conflict that would leave the group intact.

 

Civilians in Gaza have paid the highest price for the continuation of the war.

 

During the October attack, some 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others were abducted, according to Israeli authorities. While Hamas has celebrated the attack, more than 60,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the ensuing war, said the local health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

 

The seemingly irreconcilable positions of Hamas and Israel on how to end the war suggest that the fighting will continue until one side is forced to compromise.

 

And Hamas believes that Israel will eventually come to terms with an agreement that does not require the group to give in, Palestinian political analysts say.

 

“They know that the continuation of the war is very costly, but they’re hopeful that they’ll get a deal they can live with, if they remain patient and steadfast,” said Esmat Mansour, a Palestinian analyst who spent years in Israeli prisons with several top Hamas leaders.

 

“They see the internal and external pressure on Israel to end the war and they know that Israel can’t free the captives without them,” he added. “So they’re saying to themselves, ‘Why should we surrender when we can get something better?’”

 

Still, Mr. Mansour said, Hamas may conclude that to maintain some power it needs to make difficult concessions, like suspending military recruitment and training and putting its weapons in storage, potentially overseen by a third party.

 

Ibrahim Madhoun, a Palestinian analyst close to Hamas, said the group needed “an exit” from the war. “The problem is Israel has closed all the exits,” he said.

 

Hamas, at least publicly, has refused to entertain discussions about abandoning its weapons or sending its commanders into exile. Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official, framed the group’s refusal to surrender as safeguarding Palestinians.

 

“We’re dealing with an extremist government that carried out massacres at the expense of our people and that is still plotting the killing, slaughter and expulsion of our people,” he said in a text message. “We can’t stop defending ourselves and our people in light of the impotence of the international community and the clear American complicity.”

 

“Without a clear political agreement that protects the Palestinian people and its land, the resistance will continue its fight,” Mr. Badran added.

 

Another Hamas official, Taher El-Nounou, recently suggested that the war could ultimately turn in Hamas’s favor, a result that appears unlikely given Israel’s military advantage. Asked on Russia Today’s Arabic-language channel whether carrying out the 2023 attack had been the right decision, he said nobody could judge the results of the war while it was still ongoing.

 

“Before the Normandy landing, Germany was occupying almost all of Europe,” he said, referring to a costly but decisive battle during World War II. “After that landing, the situation changed.”

 

Residents of Gaza are facing the reality that the war could drag on into a third year.” [1]

 

Hamas tunnels still exist in Gaza, and sources from 2025 indicate that a substantial portion of the network remains intact despite Israeli efforts to destroy it. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have destroyed many tunnels and uncovered entrances, but estimates suggest a large percentage of the network is still functional.

 

Following an escalation into direct conflict in June 2025, Iran inflicted significant damage on Israel through missile strikes, despite Israeli and allied air defenses intercepting the majority of projectiles.  During the 12-day conflict in June 2025, Iranian ballistic missile attacks killed 28 Israelis.

 

 

1.  Why Hamas Refuses to Give Up: news analysis. Rasgon, Adam.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Sep 5, 2025.