- Vigil category device · not official insignia
Identity provenance
Vigil category device — drawn from this record’s own domain, echelon and role. Not an official insignia.
In brief
Hamas's armed wing and the principal armed organisation in Gaza — party, through Hamas, to the Board of Peace disarmament document of 30 July 2026, whose implementation is not confirmed. Its pre-war structure is documented and historical; its present structure is unknown.
- Scope
- Structure, role, lineage and links. 1 subordinate record published.
- Subordination
- Subordination unknown
- Sources
- 8 on the record
- Record state
- Partial
- Broad area of activity
- The Gaza Strip; armed presence reported in the West Bank and in Palestinian camps in Lebanon is not established as part of this organisation's structure and is not represented.
- Notable history
- The Qassam Brigades are Hamas's armed wing, distinct from the political bureau that the movement's Shura Council elects; the armed wing has its own military council. Before October 2023 they were organised in five territorial brigades — North Gaza, Gaza City, Central, Khan Younis and Rafah — with about two dozen battalions below them and specialised formations alongside; that structure is recorded as historical. Through 2023–25 the IDF repeatedly announced brigades and battalions "dismantled"; those are the IDF's claims, not independently verified. After the October 2025 ceasefire, analysts reported continuing recruitment and slow rearmament. On 15 May 2026 Israel killed the armed wing's commander in a strike on Gaza City, and Hamas confirmed his death the next day; succession since is opaque. On 20 July 2026 the movement's Shura Council elected a new political bureau head. On 30 July 2026 Hamas and other factions approved the Board of Peace disarmament document — a roadmap in which a national committee would inventory and store weapons under international verification, tied to Israeli withdrawal — with a Hamas official saying it would not be implemented if Israel failed its obligations. The United States has designated HAMAS a Foreign Terrorist Organization effective 8 October 1997 (62 FR 52650), an entry that names the Qassam Brigades among its aliases.
- Strengths
- An organisation that has survived the loss of successive commanders and most of its pre-war structure, with continuing recruitment reported and a political movement that negotiates on its behalf. No strength or arsenal figure is carried.
- Limitations
- Its pre-war brigade and battalion structure cannot be presented as current: Israeli claims of dismantlement and reports of regeneration both exist, and no independent 2026 evidence establishes the present form. Whether the disarmament roadmap was delivered or implemented after July 2026 is not confirmed by any source Vigil holds. Its command after May 2026 is not published.
Subordinate formations
Rows are layout only — position and order carry no hierarchy, importance, sequence or strength. Every record shown is an immediate subordinate of the selected organisation.
Lineage & institutional history
Formal parent institution: Hamas (political bureau and Shura Council). The movement's Shura Council elects the political bureau, which by the movement's account has primacy over the armed wing; in practice Gaza's military leadership weighed heavily in decisions during 2023–25.
Campaigns
Campaigns naming this organisation as a participant. The campaign record owns the relationship and grades it; this list is computed.
- Israel's Gaza war Opposing force · Since 7 October 2023 · high confidence · as of 2026-10
Led the 7 October attack and is the force whose disarmament the 2025–2026 instruments address. Its remaining strength is not established in open sources and no figure is carried.
Quick actions
System access
Where this record connects into the rest of Vigil. Each row is here because this organisation actually reaches it.
Assessed as of — 2026-10 Last reviewed — 2026-10-12
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