What Is the Role of Hamas in the Israel Palestine War?
What Is the Role of Hamas in the Israel Palestine War?
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Hamas to release the hostages immediately and unconditionally.
By Rakesh Raman
Israel has illegally occupied large swathes of Palestinian territories such as the West Bank and Gaza. With its formidable military power, Israel is persecuting people – mostly Muslims – in the occupied Palestinian areas.
The Palestinian political and military group Hamas which leads the Islamic resistance movement wants liberation of Palestine from Israeli occupation. With its headquarters in Gaza City and presence in West Bank, Hamas runs a majority government in Gaza Strip.
Therefore, contrary to the false propaganda, Hamas is not a terrorist group, as it has its political and military wings. Like any other army of a nation, with a strength of 30,000 soldiers, Hamas army protects Gaza civilians from constant attacks by Israeli forces. Only some Islamophobic groups call Hamas a terror organization.
As Hamas is leading an armed freedom struggle for the Palestinians, it can be compared to the Indian National Army (or the Azad Hind Fauj) armed force formed by Indian Nationalists in 1942 to secure independence for India.
To counter the brutality of the Israeli army which is illegally expanding its operations in Gaza, Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostage.
In retaliatory air strikes, Israel killed more than 4,000 people – mostly civilians in Gaza. Now, Israel is threatening to begin a ground offensive in Gaza in which thousands of Gazans are expected to be killed.
On October 17, Palestinian officials said that nearly 500 people were killed by an explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City. The attack was allegedly carried out by Israel, but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the allegation.
Most western nations led by the U.S. are blindly supporting Israel despite the fact that Israeli prime minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu – who is facing a deep political crisis – is responsible for escalation of violence in Gaza and Israel.
PM Netanyahu – who is facing a serious corruption case – may be dethroned and jailed if he is not in power. So, Netanyahu wants to stay in power by hook or by crook. If he continues war with Hamas, his corruption trial will get delayed and he will not be convicted. It is part of Netanyahu’s evil strategy that he is attacking Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
In order to support the freedom struggle of Hamas and Palestine, on October 20, Iran called on the Muslim world of more than 2 billion Muslims to unite against Israel.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that after 13 days of war, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 3,785, including at least 1,524 children, while over 12,000 have been injured.
Quoting official Israeli sources, OCHA reveals that since October 7, 1,400 people have been killed in Israel and over 4,600 injured while at least 203 people are held captive in Gaza, including Israelis and foreign nationals, as per Israeli estimations.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Hamas to release the hostages immediately and unconditionally, and the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has stressed that the taking of hostages is prohibited by international law.
Reports suggest that today (October 21) trucks carrying humanitarian aid for nearly 2 million people in the war-torn Gaza started passing into the Rafah border crossing from Egypt.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He has also been publishing The Unrest news magazine that covers economic and political upheavals in the world.
