The Hamas movement fought several major battles with Israel, and with its limited capabilities compared to its opponent, resisted and maintained its rule of Gaza and its friction with Israel.
The battles it fought did not involve any external party, “in the sense of field participation.” But in order to boost the morale, they never ceased to remind us of the support of Hezbollah - a branch of the Iranian tree.
By mentioning this, I intended to point that Hamas has long and in depth experience in fighting Israel, and has succeeded, for a long time, in managing a war, in which there was advancement and retreat, where gains were taken and prices were paid, where there were actions and reactions, bargains to the brink of the abyss, and strategic deception of the enemy, according to Sadat’s famous words.
All of this was done by Hamas, and came at a very high price: Thousands of martyrs, and the lives of more than two million Palestinians - the most difficult in the entire world.
Among Hamas’ remarkable tactics was refraining from engaging with the “Jihad” in two major events, when it left the movement face two fierce Israeli attacks, alone. This has confirmed, by the logical conclusion, that Hamas was not willing to spoil its extensive and complex preparations for Al-Aqsa Flood operation, in which it emulated Egypt’s ingenuity, and recorded two Octobers in the history of the conflict: One on the Egyptian-Syrian fronts, with Palestinian participation, and the other on the Gaza-Israeli front. Comparing the sizes and capabilities, the second October was the largest and deepest, and can be considered, according to Israeli accounts, the most painful and powerful in all respects.
The question that arose during the first hour of fighting was whether Hamas did it on its own behalf, or agreed with Hezbollah, i.e. Iran, entailing an immediate and direct intervention?
What raised doubts about this matter was the appeal of the head of the Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, on his allies, to share the victory. What he meant was not the celebration, of course, but rather the fighting.
This was before the emergence of the Israeli reaction, which vowed to destroy Gaza and eradicate Hamas and those with it, as announced by Israeli statements, which accompanied the continuous aerial bombardment that turned neighborhoods into rubble, with a clear purpose to pave the way for ground intervention.
I am writing this article on the sixth day of the fierce war between “Al-Aqsa Flood” and the “Iron Swords.” During this short time frame, Israel mobilized about 400,000 soldiers in anticipation of the surprise of the northern front.
Behind these thousands of aircraft, tanks, and artillery, the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford docked as a support for the Israeli force, a participant in the military decision, and a warning to Hezbollah against intervening in the fighting. American spokesmen did not stop repeating that they had no evidence of an Iranian role in the developments.
No one except the narrow circle in Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah knows whether there is agreed-upon coordination based on a unified plan, or whether the matter was left to individual assessment, which believed that the size of the victory, when achieved, would be a logical incentive to respond to Haniyeh’s call, who was apparently surprised by what happened.
Six days during which very limited clashes took place on the southern Lebanon front, and the question is: Was Hezbollah’s intention to intervene if the matter had remained merely an Israeli-Gaza war, or did the American warning work decisively, as it was not right to ignore it and consider it a maneuver, especially as the aircraft carrier has arrived and another will follow... and this is something that Hezbollah and Iran deserve to take into consideration.
Gaza has reached a state of complete devastation and a siege that has tightened to the point of suffocation. Everything that is being done for its sake is an Egyptian and international effort to ensure calm for a few hours, for food and medicine to arrive, and Hamas and its fellow factions maintain their steadfastness, and continue bombing and penetrating the Israeli lines with courage and boldness, as it appears that their missile stock is more than sufficient.
Our brother Ismail Haniyeh continues to call on the allies to share the victory. No one knows what happened and what will happen. Perhaps the coming days will reveal more and clearer facts. Most importantly, Gaza before the war, under the rubble, and after the end of the battles, will remain Palestinian in spirit, heart, belonging, and steadfastness.
