Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, has thrived for four decades by being underestimated and it assumes this will happen again. It has successfully exploited the conflict with Israel by partnering with countries that back political Islam, such as Turkey and Qatar, and by gaining support from Iran due to its war with Israel. Hamas has also benefited from Israel's buy-in to its sustained rule in Gaza, even after launching rockets at Israel and kidnapping soldiers. Hamas understands Israel's weakness and assumes it can draw Israel into a long war in Gaza and leverage this to take over the West Bank. It plans to continue hiding among the civilian population and hopes to be portrayed as defeated and deterred by Israel, while it rebuilds its forces and aims to take over the West Bank.