Orientul Mijlociu

A number of factors led to Hamas’s operation in southern Israel.

On October 7, Hamas launched a massive military operation into Israeli territory. The shooting of thousands of rockets into Israel was followed by an attack by land, air and sea, with fighters penetrating deep into territory under Israeli control. They attacked military installations and temporarily took over various settlements. The death toll among Israelis has exceeded 1,200, including more than 120 soldiers; dozens of Israeli hostages were also taken into the Gaza Strip.

The bold and suicidal actions by Gaza militants defy reason… to the reasonable. To those frustrated by decades of oppression, with no apparent means to alleviate the suffering, the actions become comprehensible.

Puisqu’on ressasse à plus soif le thème de «l’islamisme radical» et du «fanatisme religieux» du Hamas, un petit rappel historique n’est pas superflu. Comme le montre la partialité des prises de position sur la crise actuelle, on ne comprend pas ce conflit, en effet, si l’on oublie l’essentiel : le sionisme n’est pas un mouvement d’émancipation juive, ni un nationalisme séculier classique.

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken pledged support and more weapon deliveries for Israel.

On Thursday, Salama Maarouf, the head of the Hamas-run government media office, denounced that Israel destroyed about 752 residential buildings in its airstrikes on Gaza.

For over a decade, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu collaborated with the emirate of evil, Qatar, in pushing $1.5 billion dollars to Hamas in Gaza – enabling it to build an army 30,000 strong and its massive missile arsenal, and equip itself with a variety of other weapons and munitions sufficient for a prolonged war. These funds also enabled Hamas to build an underground city with dozens of kilometers of tunnels and command and battle posts, with a hi-tech early warning system.

On October 10, 2023, Hamas leader abroad Khaled Mash’al published an announcement calling on the entire Islamic ummah (nation) to join the jihad battle for Al-Aqsa Mosque and to provide economic aid to the Gaza Strip. He stressed that this call was addressed first and foremost to all the Arab countries closest to Israel, with an emphasis on Jordan.

Dr. Mahmoud Al-Shajrawi of the Palestine Scholars Association in the Diaspora said on an October 9, 2023 show on Al-Quds Al-Youm TV (Palestinian Islamic Jihad – Gaza) that his organization issued a “wonderful” fatwa stating that it is permissible to kill Israelis wherever they may be, whether it is in the West Bank, within Israel’s 1948 border, or in the Arab countries that have normalized relations with Israel.

Regardless of the precise strategy of the Palestinian group Hamas, or any other Palestinian movement for that matter, the daring Palestinian military campaign, deep inside Israel, on Saturday, October 7, was only possible because Palestinians are simply fed up.

Uncertainty is rising for Syrian refugees everywhere. Borders are tightening in Europe, deportations from Lebanon and Turkey are increasing, and Syria remains inhospitable for returning refugees. Jordan is considered to be a Syrian refugee “success story” due to its record of hospitality. However, Syrians who reside in the country are increasingly concerned about changes in the government’s posture toward them. They fear that their host government may be running out of patience and they may soon be pressured to leave.

The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate as the health sector collapses and bodies begin piling up in front of hospitals.

Three days into the Israeli siege and bombardment, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is quickly worsening, with the death toll now over 1,400 and the number of displaced surpassing 300,000.