Orientul Mijlociu

Abstract: Hamas has evolved from a Muslim Brotherhood-rooted social-religious movement into a hybrid actor that governs, polices society, and wages organized violence. The October 7, 2023, terrorist attack marked a watershed for Israel and the world. Against that backdrop, this article maps how Hamas thinks, operates, fights, and governs—from its origins to the present—showing how a religious structure and social-welfare dawa network hardened into an organized war machine. Based on first-hand interviews with senior figures, including its founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, it details the ideology, organizational architecture, and decision-making that drive both the dawa apparatus and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The analysis tracks pivotal inflection points—from the First Intifada and Marj al-Zuhr deportations through Gaza’s 2007 takeover, successive wars, and Iranian/Hezbollah backing—to October 7. It concludes by assessing Hamas’ degraded yet durable capabilities, internal factional dynamics, and implications for Gaza’s ‘day after.’

With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, US President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping 20-point peace plan for the Gaza Strip on Monday – billed as a bold attempt to end the conflict and reshape the enclave’s political future.

The plan sets out a phased ceasefire, the creation of a governing body for Gaza, and a US-chaired “peace board” to oversee the transition, with the Trump administration in sole charge.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan for the Gaza Strip, unveiled on Monday during meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, comes at a crossroads. On the eve of the war’s two-year anniversary, the humanitarian dimensions of the crisis increasingly are intersecting with political pressures and security priorities. This makes any approach to reconstruction and stability in Gaza a difficult test: Can this peace plan reconcile its ambitions with the reality on the ground?

The peace plan proposed by Israel and the United States for Gaza is not only a trap, but it repeats the same mistakes of the past that did not lead to peace.

Hezbollah may not be fully up and running in Syria following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, but it is still seeking to take advantage of the instability in the country, along with other militant groups. The Iranian-backed terror group is still using Syria as a corridor to arm its forces in Lebanon, and just as troubling, a Syrian official confirmed that remnants of Iran-linked militias continue to operate in Quneitra, close to Israel’s border.

ISIS has been witnessing a new surge in its activity inside Syria since the change of the former regime in December 2024, taking advantage of the fragility of the transitional authority and the overlap of its structure with different factions. Despite intense international strikes, the group has been able to carry out qualitative attacks and has begun to reposition, amid security and political complications facing the interim government. The scene is becoming increasingly dangerous with the emergence of more radicalized groups and the erosion of divides between regular forces and militant militants. On the other hand, the international community linked the support of the new government to its seriousness in combating terrorism and extremism, which poses a structural challenge to its security institutions and internal alliances.

The Israeli-American track is undergoing a qualitative shift with the announcement of US envoy Steve Whittoff of a “comprehensive deal” to stop the war in Gaza, including the release of hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, reconstruction, and the imposition of an international administration led by Washington, in a unilateral path that deviates Hamas from any negotiating role. The deal coincides with an Israeli plan to occupy the Gaza Strip in stages, and impose security control and alternative civilian administration, and this approach aims to impose the “day after” the war as a fait accompli serving Israeli goals.

I renew my sincere appeal to our Arab Shiite brothers: Let your belonging to your Arab nation be, and let your loyalty to your homeland be advanced over any partisan or external loyalty. Face the current challenges in a spirit of courage and responsibility, it is time to say: Enough. Enough successive losses that have exhausted you and exhausted your homelands. Revisit honestly, and stay away from a project that has brought you and your partners back to the country nothing but blood, destruction and woes.