Hamas is expected to ramp up efforts to kidnap Israeli soldiers and recover the bodies of fallen troops in Gaza in a bid to gain leverage in ceasefire negotiations, according to experts cited by The Guardian.

�There is no doubt Hamas will increase its attempts to take new hostages, including the bodies of dead soldiers and civilians,� said Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University. His comments follow the death of St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Avraham Azulay, 25, who was killed last week in Khan Yunis after Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel and attempted to abduct him. The IDF said Azulay fought back before being fatally shot. Other soldiers engaged and eliminated several attackers, preventing the abduction.

Analysts suggest Hamas�s renewed focus on capturing IDF soldiers is aimed at shifting the momentum of the war, both tactically and psychologically. A successful abduction could provide Hamas with a powerful bargaining chip in ongoing ceasefire and hostage negotiations, while also impacting Israeli public morale.

�Hamas may release captives in exchange for a temporary ceasefire, but they are also signaling that any agreement will not mark the end of the conflict,� said Ramallah-based political analyst Abdeljawad Hamayel. �It�s part of a psychological war � to boost their fighters and demoralize both Israeli soldiers and civilians.�

A Palestinian analyst based in Qatar, familiar with Hamas�s strategic discussions, added that even with limited manpower � estimated at just a few hundred active fighters in Gaza � the group remains strategically effective. �They are careful and precise with their resources,� the analyst said.

Experts also described how Hamas has undergone a tactical evolution since its October 7 massacre, transitioning from a quasi-conventional military force into a decentralized guerrilla network. �It�s a very complicated battlefield for the IDF,� said Guy Aviad, a former IDF historian and expert on Hamas. �They are exploiting the rubble and urban chaos, and they have decades of guerrilla warfare experience.�

The conflict has entered what experts are calling a phase of attritional warfare, designed to slowly wear down Israel�s operational capacity and global image. �We�re seeing limits to Israel�s military power � not just in terms of physical force, but in international perception as well,� Hamayel noted.

Despite the sustained Israeli pressure on Hamas � including the killing of senior commanders and widespread destruction across Gaza � the terror group�s leadership remains defiant.

�In Israel, we believed that continued military pressure would eventually break Hamas,� Milshtein said. �But how much more pressure can you apply? We�ve decimated their leadership. We�ve destroyed Gaza. And yet, the core ideology and demands of Hamas remain unchanged.�

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