The deep interwovenness of Hamas with Palestinian society makes it difficult to eradicate the movement in its capacity as a militant and Islamist expression of resistance against Israel’s unlawful occupation. The Israeli military effort in Gaza to eradicate all institutions of social life and its mass killing of civilians aims at undercutting the popular and social bases of Hamas without, however, any accompanying political effort to change the fundamentals of occupation. The carnage Israel has caused makes it more likely than not that Hamas, or a look-alike, will emerge from the rubble unless Israel takes its mass assassinations and forced displacements to their ultimate conclusion. This also means that Hamas will play a role in the future governance of Gaza, and indeed of the state of Palestine as a whole if the objective is durable peace. The dysfunction of the Palestinian Authority and the destruction of Gaza will only make militant resistance a more attractive option for many Palestinians and Hamas is well placed to take advantage of such a development. Israel will probably welcome it since Palestinian militancy enables iron-fisted repression with the excuse of fighting terrorism.