A senior Hamas official in Turkey told the Elaph news service on Sunday that the terrorist organization is approaching a breaking point because of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the loss of cooperation from Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship in Damascus, according to a report by Israel Hayom.
"Hamas is suffering from a genuine leadership crisis. The Al-Aqsa Flood attack backfired on us, submerging us in a sea of blood and crises. The most recent blow was the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, with which Hamas had been attempting to rebuild relations," the unnamed functionary was quoted as saying.
The Saudi Arabian news agency reported that, in addition to the significant personnel losses over the 14-month conflict in the coastal enclave, Palestinian militant groups are facing demands from the new Syrian government to close offices, dismantle training camps, surrender weapons, and vacate the territory controlled by the leading insurgent faction, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Elaph further revealed that the commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who were stationed in Syria, fled the country prior to al-Assad’s overthrow and are believed to be residing under the protection of the Islamic Republic in Tehran.
The disclosure follows a Thursday report by The Wall Street Journal indicating Hamas mediators handed over a list of hostages they have in their custody and agreed to accept the presence of the Israeli armed forces in Gaza after a ceasefire is agreed to.
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