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Operation Al-Aqsa Flood


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In January 2020, the administration of former US President Donald Trump announced a peace plan for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which Israel adopted and which the Palestinians rejected for several reasons, including that it granted Israel most of what it sought during decades of conflict, including almost all of the occupied territories on which it established settlements.

The HAMAS launched a large scale surprise attack - “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” - on Saturday 07 October 2023 involving aerial, sea and ground operations from the Gaza Strip. Hamas invaded and overran military bases and border settlements. Israel responded with a massive bombardment - “Operation Iron Swords” - of the blockaded coastal enclave, often described as the world’s largest open-air prison. Israeli sources estimate at least 1,000 Palestinians managed to infiltrate into Israel through four different areas. It was the first time since 1948 that these developments are on the Israeli side because they are usually in Arab areas. This was the biggest escalation of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the last 50 years.

By Ramadan 2024, the resulting war had reached something of a stasis. The three laws of thermodynamics are fundamental principles in the study of energy transfers: energy cannot be created or destroyed; the entropy of an isolated system always increases over time; perfect crystal at zero Kelvin has zero entropy. The physicist C.P. Snow summarized the laws as follows: “You can’t win,” “You can’t break even,” and “You can’t quit." This was the situation confronting the combatants: none could declare victory, none were prepared to admit defeat, and none could withdraw from the struggle. Death and destruction continued, though at a diminished pace, but very little changed from day to day.

We provided detailed accounts of the first 199 days of this war, but paused these narratives pending some major development.

In 2005, Tel Aviv implemented a unilateral disengagement plan: Gaza was completely separated from Israel , Jewish settlers and military personnel left the enclave. Since then, the IDF has conducted operations there three times - in 2008, 2012 and 2014.

In March 2023, Hamas reportedly sent a high-level delegation to Russia and held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, warning the Kremlin that the group’s “patience” with Israel was “running out.” Senior Hamas figures also visited Russia in May and September 2022. The group has said its attack was supported by Iran and other countries but did not name them.

Four in 10 Palestinian men spend time in Israel jails. Hamas says it wants to exchange captured Israelis for them. Some argue that all of Gaza is effectively an open-air prison — 2.2 million people blockaded by Israel in a tiny coastal enclave. The number of Palestinians who have actually spent time in Israeli jails too is of a similar order. Since 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, it has arrested an estimated one million Palestinians, the United Nations reported in 2022.

By comparison, in the United States, the country notorious for the world’s largest prison population, one in 200 people is imprisoned. The imprisonment rate among Black Americans is more than three times the overall rate — but even then is a tiny fraction of an average Palestinian’s likelihood of spending time in jail.

The number of Palestinians currently behind Israeli bars is 5,200, including 33 women and 170 children. There are 1,264 Palestinian administrative detainees, which means that they are held indefinitely behind bars without facing trial or any charges.

Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri told Al Jazeera that the captives would be used for prisoner exchanges. Arouri said Hamas had enough Israeli captives to make Israel free all Palestinian prisoners in its jails. The Hamas deputy chief told Al Jazeera, “We managed to kill and capture many Israeli soldiers. The fighting is still on. As to our prisoners I say, your freedom is looming large. What we have in hand will see you set free. The longer fighting continues, the higher the number of prisoners will become.”

The Hamas deputy chief said the group is engaged in a battle for freedom. “This is not a [hit-and-run] operation; we started an all-out battle. We expect fighting to continue and the fighting front to expand. We have one prime target: our freedom and the freedom of our holy sites,” he told Al Jazeera.

Palestinians have historically used North Korean weapons, which may have been first purchased by Iran or Syria, and then smuggled to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, circumventing an Israeli-Egyptian embargo that has been in place since 2005. “The Syrians deal with Hezbollah a lot and Hezbollah deals with Hamas a lot,” said Bruce E. Bechtol Jr., a former intelligence officer for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. “A lot of the trade that North Korea does with both Hamas and Hezbollah is deals that they make through the IRGC, the Iranian Republican Guard Corps,” he said.

In its recent attacks on Israelis, Hamas used weapons originating in a wide range of current and former states, including the United States, the Soviet Union, and North Korea, said N.R. Jenzen-Jones, director of the Armament Research Services intelligence consultancy, or ARES. A preliminary analysis of images reviewed by this consultancy shows “a militant armed with an RPG-7 type shoulder-fired recoilless gun, loaded with an F-7 series high explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) munition, produced in North Korea,” Jenzen-Jones said. “These have previously been documented in the region, including in Syria, Iraq, and in the Gaza Strip."

Other images showed militants using what appeared to be a North Korean Type 58 self-loading rifle, a derivative of the well-known AK series, he said. "North Korean arms have previously been documented amongst interdicted supplies provided by Iran to militant groups, and this is believed to be the primary way in which DPRK weapons have come into the possession of Palestinian militants,” he said. “North Korean arms have previously been identified in the hands of the militant factions of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, amongst other groups,” he added.

“The North Koreans have also sold the 'BULSAE' antitank system to Hamas. It's a very good antitank system and they could be firing that at Israeli tanks when they're entering the Gaza Strip here within the next day or two,” said Bechtol. “So North Korea has given them some capabilities that are interesting.”

Hamas Political Bureau Chief, Ismail Haniyeh, affirmed on 14 December 2023 that the battle in Gaza "is approaching its honorable end" due to the legendary resilience of the people of the Strip and their courageous resistance. In a speech, Haniyeh stated that the Resistance in the Gaza Strip is "capable and steadfast," and the Israeli occupation is "on the decline," emphasizing that the legendary resilience and courageous resistance have created consequences beyond imagination, putting the enemy's alliances in question.

He also explained that the Palestinian people "have been and still are a target for the occupation," urging the Arab and Islamic nations to expand their efforts for the sake of the Palestinian cause. Haniyeh pointed out that "the Israeli enemy will pay the price for its crimes," adding that the heroic actions of the Al-Qassam Brigades and the Resistance are evident during confrontations and are inflicting significant losses to the enemy, the latest being in al-Shujaiya and Jabalia. Moreover, the top Hamas official mentioned that the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle delivered a powerful blow to the Israeli occupation, shaking its military and political leadership.

The head of the political bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in a televised speech during a conference of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, held in Doha, the capital city of Qatar 09 January 2024, suggested that three developments preceded the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, imposing an unconventional approach to confrontation, namely:

  1. Marginalization of the Palestinian cause locally and internationally.
  2. Arrival of a Zionist government prioritizing the displacement of our people and imposing its sovereignty over al-Aqsa Mosque.
  3. Normalization efforts and the integration of the occupation in the region, dealing with it at the expense of our people and our cause.

Thus, Operation Al Aqsa Flood formulated an adequate response, and successfully delivered a powerful blow to the Israeli occupation, shaking its military and political leadership.

At first, the Netanyahu government issued a basic goal, which was to eradicate the Hamas movement. At the end of 2023, Egypt launched the course of serious negotiations, presenting a detailed offer to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements, but the offer that was made was not at the level of the Palestinian request, so the request was rejected after discussion:

  1. On the ground, the Palestinian factions, led by the Hamas movement, are still waging war inside the Gaza Strip within their military pace that achieves victories.
  2. The decision to win Gaza has become settled, and the negotiations for the next stage must be determined by the Hamas and Jihad movements, which still find themselves free from the pressures of the ceasefire.

On 21 January 2024, the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) issued an official document in which it spoke about the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood and its account of the events of the surprise attack launched by the Al-Qassam Brigades and the resistance factions on October 7th of last year on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip. Hamas explained in the document, which was titled “ This is our story... Why the flood of Al-Aqsa, ” that the operation was a necessary step and a natural response, to confront the hatched Israeli plans aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause, controlling and Judaizing the land, resolving sovereignty over Al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy sites, and ending the siege. Unjust aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Hamas stressed that it is a natural step with the aim of getting rid of the occupation, restoring national rights, achieving independence and freedom like other peoples of the world, the right to self-determination, and establishing the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Hamas called for an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, immediate action to stop the crimes and genocide committed by the occupation against the Palestinian people, opening the crossings, lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, bringing in aid and providing all requirements for shelter and reconstruction.

It called for action to legally punish the Israeli occupation for its occupation, and all the suffering, victims and losses that it entailed, and to strive to make the occupation pay the costs of its crimes in killing civilians, and the costs of its destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, universities, mosques, churches, infrastructure, and others.

In the document, Hamas stressed the need to support the resistance against the Israeli occupation by all available means, as it is a legitimate right in accordance with international law and all laws and religions. In its document, Hamas denied Israeli reports that it targeted civilians during the attack, stressing that it only attacked military sites, and said that “avoiding targeting civilians, especially women, children, and the elderly, is a religious and moral obligation upon which the people of Hamas are raised,” adding that “our resistance is disciplined.”

Hamas stressed that "the Palestinian people's battle with the occupation and colonialism did not begin on October 7, 2023, but rather began before that, in 105 years of occupation: 30 years under British colonialism and 75 years of Zionist occupation." Hamas called for continuing popular Arab, Islamic and international pressure to end the occupation, and to activate movements to reject normalization, movements to boycott Israeli goods and boycott companies and institutions that support the occupation.

An article written by Palestinian journalist Ramzi Baroud published by the American website Counter Punch stated that the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7 should not be seen as a sudden act. This is because the massive Israeli military buildup in the Gaza envelope was intended to ensure the tightness of the siege on the Gaza Strip and its subjugation.

Although Israel possesses advanced military technologies that are supposed to prevent surprise attacks, the failure to The expectation of a Hamas attack was massive and multi-level. In the wake of the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found himself in an “embarrassing” situation and facing an unprecedented challenge that forced him to respond. Instead of finding a way out by taking responsibility and uniting his people, or acknowledging that war is never the solution in the face of a “resistant and oppressed” people, he continued his stubbornness.

Adding insult to injury, the Israeli prime minister, surrounded by extremist ministers, added insult to injury by seizing the opportunity of war to implement his long-stalled plans to practice ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians, not only in the Gaza Strip , but also in the West Bank, Baroud said, adding, “And had it not been for the steadfastness of The Palestinian people and the rejection of Egypt and strong Jordan would have made the second Nakba a reality.”

Baroud says that this “single attack” has already proven to be a turning point that will change the rules of the game in the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians, and that its impact will continue to be felt for many years, if not for generations to come. He added that Netanyahu is in a difficult position even before the Al-Aqsa Flood operation took place, and “he has no one to blame but himself,” noting that he struggled to fortify his position at the top of the pyramid of the Israeli political system with the help of the government, “the most extremist ever, in a country whose very existence is considered the product of extremist ideology.”

Even the popular protests against him that spread throughout Israel for several months before the war on Gaza did not warn him - according to Baroud - that his situation would become more difficult, and that the Palestinians, who are suffering under the yoke of permanent military occupation and siege, might find an opportunity in Israel’s political and military crises.

The writer goes on to say that all Israeli politicians, regardless of their ideological and political spectrum, outdid each other in the tone of their speeches, which were characterized by racism, violence, and even incitement to genocide. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu even suggested "dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza." The Israeli leader still talks about “voluntary immigration,” his desire to manage Gaza and Palestine, and to reshape the Middle East in ways consistent with his own delusions of grandeur and power.

The writer criticized Washington's position, saying that the administration of US President Joe Biden played the role of "the main encourager and frank partner" of Israel, instead of saving it from itself by reminding its government that the genocidal war on Gaza portends evil for Tel Aviv as well.

The 100 days of war on Gaza taught that superior firepower no longer affects the results when a people makes the collective decision to resist. “It also taught us that the United States is no longer able to rearrange the Middle East to suit Israeli priorities, and that the relatively small countries in the Global South, when united, are capable of changing the course of history.” He concluded his article by affirming that history had already written that the “determination” of the Palestinian people triumphed over the Israeli “death machine".

By February 2024 Hezbollah was showing signs of escalating battles on the northern front, which is not an irrational fear for the Zionists given what happened in 2000 and 2006. So how could Hamas secure a larger victory? If the Resistance is able to enfeeble the Zionists and settle a temporary truce at the 1967 borders, that then increases the size of the land base and improves the logistics for launching a war of total liberation because there will be some territorial contiguity. This would also shift internal developments in Palestine, such as the potential formation of a unity government which gets rid of the comprador elements of Fatah.

Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk claimed 25 February 2024 that Hamas did not anticipate Israel’s response to its October 7 massacre, according to a translation of an interview given to Egypt’s Alghad TV on Thursday by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported by the Jerusaalem Post on Sunday. “Nobody in the whole world expected them to be so barbaric,” Marzouk said. “And in such violation of all international laws, treaties, and norms. Nobody expected the [Israeli response] to be so barbaric because, ultimately, the resistance fights soldiers. It is not fighting civilians with planes and tanks.”

Marzouk asked the interviewer: “Do you think that anyone in the world could have expected there to be a world war? In the sense that America, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Spain – all of them would gather armies, and the US would send two of the largest aircraft carriers to the Mediterranean Sea, all in order to fight a movement? By what logic could anyone have expected that the US and the entire West would unite without exception to wage war against a movement? Who could have expected this?"

The criticism from other Palestinian factions - including prominent figures in Fatah - was simple: Sinwar - along with his brother Muhammad and the Hamas military commander Marwan Issa - did not consult with any of the members of the political bureaus of Hamas, not in Qatar, not in Gaza itself, and not even with the senior members of the Hamas prisoners in Israeli prisons, when he initiated the October 7 attack , set its scope and goals, as well as the time of the hearing. According to the claim of Sinwar's critics, since its founding in late 1987, no fateful decisions have ever been made in Hamas without respecting the principle of the obligation to consult ("Shura"), while this time Sinwar took upon himself the authority to be the sole arbiter.

Sinwar convinced himself to believe that he had an Iranian commitment that a second front would be opened from Lebanon and a third front from Syria. They emphasize that Hezbollah initially tried to avoid opening fire at all, by sending a Hamas squad towards the northern border. Only more than a day later, Nasrallah gave the green light to ignite a limited front.

Instead of a limited raid on two or three IDF kibbutzim and outposts in order to capture hostages and bargain for the release of mass prisoners from Israel in exchange for them, Sinwar chose an all-out assault of 3,000 Nuh'ba fighters through 60 entry roads, out of an excessive appetite to achieve goals that could not be realized. For example: the plan to send Hamas men riding in the white Toyotas and motorcycles to Mount Hebron, a distance of 40 kilometers, to set fire to the West Bank. There was also the plan to storm deep into Israel in order to reach several air force bases, the port of Ashkelon and even hit the port of Ashdod.

Newly revealed documents obtained by Channel 12 on 16 March 2024 shed light on the meticulous planning behind Hamas's devastating October 7 attack, implicating the group's third-ranking leader, Marwan Issa. The documents, signed by Issa, outline a coordinated assault involving Hamas's elite Nukhba force targeting numerous Israeli communities and military bases. According to the seized documents, the assault was meticulously planned, involving 1,500-1,800 Nukhba operatives targeting 46 communities and military installations. Among the intended targets were sensitive sites such as the military intelligence Unit 8200 and the air force base at Hatzerim in southern Israel.

While the operation aimed to strike these critical targets, the infiltrating Hamas forces, numbering around 3,000, ultimately did not reach the intended bases. The documents also hint at potential coordination with other entities, referencing favorable conditions in Iran and Lebanon, although the extent of any collaboration remains unclear.

One of the more striking revelations from the documents is the secrecy surrounding the operation. Brigade commanders were only briefed on the plans five days before the attack, followed by battalion commanders 48 hours prior, and company commanders just 12 hours before the assault.

Youssef Siher, the Moroccan-Italian independent journalist, argued 25 May 2024 "the struggle for decolonization in Palestine is emblematic of broader global movements against colonialism and imperialism. It highlights the enduring legacy of colonial exploitation and the persistent fight for justice and sovereignty. The Palestinian cause resonates with other decolonization movements around the world, drawing parallels with historical struggles in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These movements share a common narrative of enduring oppression, resilient resistance, and the quest for liberation. The end of colonial rule in Palestine would not only signify a pivotal victory for the Palestinian people but also mark a significant shift in the global geopolitical landscape. It would challenge the remnants of colonial power structures and inspire other oppressed communities to pursue their own paths to freedom. The downfall of Zionism, as suggested, represents a broader rejection of colonial ideologies and practices that have perpetuated inequality and conflict for centuries....

"The systems of power feel the strong pressure of the united masses - behind the vanguard of the Palestinian Resistance and the student push - in a single struggle for the liberation of humanity from the chains that have tied it for centuries to a system, the capitalist one, whose sole purpose is to suck the soul out of the weak to line the pockets of the strong. The new generation has decided to break with the ancient colonial and racial regime of the nineteenth century. The time has come to overturn everything through a total revolution. Universities are the fulcrum of this revolution, students are its protagonists."

The October 7 attacks and the brutal response that followed undermined the two strategic goals of Netanyahu’s sixth government in terms of foreign relations; the first is to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, and the second is to try to strengthen Israel’s position internationally in order to deepen the marginalization of the Palestinian cause. However, what happened was a decline in Israel’s achievements internationally and regionally, both officially and popularly, especially in Africa and Latin America, and the normalization process faltered, especially with Saudi Arabia. Relations with central countries such as Russia and China entered a new phase of tension. The war also weighed heavily on the position of the European Union, which was greatly affected by the divergent positions of its member states. Gradually, the European Union adopted a more critical position against Israel.

Hamas had appraised Iran and Hezbollah of its plans to carry out a massive surprise attack against Israel and tried to enlist their participation as early as in 2022, according to a New York Times report 12 October 2024 citing the minutes of 10 secret meetings, which were seized by the IDF in Gaza. Sinwar began planning the attack – dubbed "the big project" in the documents obtained by the Times – in the autumn of 2022.

A senior Hamas operative met with senior Iranian and Hezbollah commanders in Lebanon in July 2023 to request their assistance in attacking sensitive sites in Israel during the planned cross-border incursion. The minutes show that the Iranians commander said Tehran and its Lebanese proxy supported the plan in principle yet required more time to prepare. According to the Times, Hamas concluded it had to launch the attack alone before Israel developed more sophisticated air and border defenses. Disrupting the U.S.-backed initiative for Israel-Saudi normalization had also entered the calculations of the Palestinian jihadists. The documents show the group laying the groundwork for the shock assault and a subsequent regional conflagration that Sinwar hoped would cause Israel to “collapse.”



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