Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian group, has emerged from the recent Israeli offensive against its stronghold in the Gaza Strip more deeply entrenched and with broader public backing than before, according to independent analysts and a poll published this week.

Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip last June, following violent clashes with the rival Fatah party of Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. Israel has since sought to weaken the group by imposing drastic economic sanctions against the territory and through repeated military incursions into the strip. An Israeli offensive earlier this month claimed the lives of 131 Palestinians, including many civilians.