Hamas is stronger now than before the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, with the war only serving to undermine moderate factions and galvanise Palestinians behind the Islamic Resistance Movement, according to a senior Hamas official.

He insisted that the group was well stocked with materials and had even received a shipment of smuggled weapons yesterday despite the siege.

And Hamas’s military wing would have no trouble resuming attacks on Israeli forces if they failed to withdraw completely from Gaza by Sunday, he said, when a week-long ceasefire is due to end.

Crucially for the reconstruction effort in Gaza, Mr Nassar confirmed Hamas would accept outside aid and would co-operate with Fatah, its main Palestinian rival, led by Mahmoud Abbas.

Humanitarian aid is being rushed into Gaza as Israel and Egypt open their borders temporarily to allow convoys of aid to pass through.

While Israeli drones circle the skies above, Hamas security men are back on the streets attempting to restore some semblance of law and order. Policemen are directing traffic. Several looters have been arrested.

Gazans who survived the battering inflicted by Israel’s 22-day military campaign, code-named Operation Cast Lead, are venturing out and trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Initial estimates state that 15 percent or 20,000 of the Gaza Strip’s buildings have been damaged, with nearly 30,000 Palestinians forced to find shelter in UN Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA) shelters and with family.

Nearly 1,300 Gazans lost their lives, around a third of these children, with a total of more than half of the deaths civilian. The number of injured is pushing 4,000.