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Jerusalem – Israeli forces continued to bombard the homes of Hamas leaders on Monday as the war in the Gaza Strip entered its 17th day. So far Israel says that at least 300 militants are among the more than 900 Palestinians killed.But Hamas insists that it has not been significantly hurt-tactically speaking-by the onslaught.Government offices and tunnels have been destroyed. Its leaders are pinned down, unable to move freely or show their faces in public or even communicate on cellphones that can be tracked by the Israeli army.Israel recently killed Amir Mansi, commander of Hamas's Gaza rocket division, and its stream of Qassams has dropped 50 percent since the assault began. But it is still able to launch rockets at Israel.Has Israel decimated the Hamas leadership-and eroded its support among Gazans? Are its senior political chiefs based in Syria calling the shots and prolonging a battle that war-weary Gazans would increasingly like to see ended?Inside Gaza, relief is needed immediately; rebuilding could take five years. Hamas in Gaza sent a three-man delegation to Cairo to work on reaching a deal. But Hamas leaders from abroad have taken a harder line, indicating that it would rather fight until the last man than agree to a cease-fire that doesn't meet its demands.Khaled Mashaal, the Syria-based political leader of Hamas and the man who holds more sway than any of the Hamas leadership in Gaza, says that Hamas will only agree to a truce if all border crossings are open. He rejects any new measures to prevent the smuggling of additional weapons into Gaza.Mr. Mashaal said Monday that Hamas won't accept "any discussion" about restricting its possession of weapons, adding, "No one has the right to limit the right of our people to look for a rifle to defend ourselves."Israel, meanwhile, says that Hamas has been seriously damaged and may be close to agreeing to the Egyptian-brokered deal. It told reporters that Hamas's military wing is in disarray and falling apart."Whether Hamas is weakened or not, and certainly, it must have been weakened structurally very seriously in the last few weeks, Hamas is saying in terms of its spirit, it is not going to be destroyed. And the indication of that for them is the continued launch of missiles," says Maha Azzam, an expert on Hamas and Political Islam at London's Chatham House."It doesn't mean that Hamas as an organization wouldn't be ready to come to some kind of cease-fire agreement, so it can survive as an organization," Ms. Azzam says. But the heavy losses Hamas has sustained, she says, makes it look more heroic in the eyes of many across the Muslim world. "Although continued bombardment of civilians poses a problem of Hamas, they can say as Hamas, we're never going to succumb."By Ilene R. Prusher Ilene R. Prusher
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