Four days after the Israeli occupation forces' withdrawal from Khan Younis, as crowds of residents return to their destroyed homes, Hamas fighters have also been spotted regaining control of Gaza's largest city, the Israeli Ynet reported Wednesday.

The Israeli newspaper argued that as long as the Israeli regime insists on not bringing in thousands of Fatah members living in the Gaza Strip to replace Hamas, the months that have passed make the more modest goals of the war more difficult to achieve: Destroying Hamas's civilian but not military rule.

The report underlined that the Israeli occupation's Air Force could not "go after every worker removing the debris from the streets with a tractor nor could it launch air raids on every head of a regional education directory who still receives his salary from Hamas."

The Israeli occupation forces, according to Ynet, are "finding it difficult to identify and attack the entire internal security apparatus of the Palestinian Resistance, which is still highly active in Gaza. "

"In the absence of another authority and the continued avoidance of action, Israel is effectively perpetuating Hamas's civilian rule in Gaza, helping it to survive again for years to come," the Israeli newspaper asserted.

The Palestinian Resistance, it added, is roaming Jabaliya's packed markets and enforcing law and order while ensuring that there is no price gouging. This is showcased in the fact that data collected by the Israeli security and military establishment shows that food prices in Gaza have dropped significantly in the markets over the past month, meaning that Hamas managed to stabilize the economy at a time of war.

Khan Younis to follow suit

According to the military, as reported by Ynet, these same images will be seen in the coming days in Khan Younis as well. The security and military establishment recognizes that Hamas has also reduced its taxes to make it easier for residents to buy basic goods, especially in preparation for Eid al-Fitr.

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The report underlined that while the Israeli occupation forces prepare to fight against two Hamas battalions they have yet to deal with, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat, and Rafah, the Israeli regime itself negligently turned the latter into a symbolic name for the global opposition to the Israeli occupation forces' continued ground activities in Gaza.

"Prepare for a large number of soldiers and lorries (on which the wounded are transported)," officers tell the soldiers of the units that are supposed to maneuver in Rafah if the hundreds of thousands of residents and displaced persons do not leave, the newspaper said.

'Israel' suffering on every front

Ynet underlined the growing frustration in "Israel" regarding the filled markets in Gaza, wherein 500 trucks are allowed entry to Gaza per day, which it said were "given to Hamas for free" instead of as a key item in the ongoing ceasefire and prisoner swap talks taking place between the Resistance and the Israeli occupation.

The report also stressed that the Israeli occupation is currently withdrawing from certain areas in Gaza due to the intense international and US pressure on the government over the brutal killing of seven foreign aid workers at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, an event that caused an uproar around the world.

"Now, against the backdrop of the troop withdrawal from Khan Younis, veteran combat officers and veterans who are in their fifties and have recently emerged from the most famous maneuvers in the Gaza Strip estimate that from a purely military standpoint that Hamas will, in an optimistic scenario, be defeated only in 2026 or 2027, even after its last two brigades are hopefully disbanded by year-end," the report said.

Hamas ceased to exist

According to "Israel's" Security Minister Yoav Gallant, Israeli forces withdrew from Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Sunday "to prepare for future missions, including... in Rafah."

Gallant claimed that Israeli troops were pulled out after months of violent warfare because "Hamas ceased to exist as a military framework" in Khan Younis. 

Herzi Halevi, the IOF Chief of staff, said that despite pulling out from Gaza, the battle against Hamas is far from done.

He also said that if a truce is reached as part of a prisoner exchange deal, the IOF will be prepared to resume fighting and that returning the Israeli captives held by the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza is a more pressing priority than other objectives.

In a press statement, Halevi argued that "Israel" was fighting the war "differently" and in a different matter than its "predecessors."

“The war in Gaza continues, and we are far from stopping."