Why Operation Al-Aqsa Flood?

GAZA – On Sunday, Hamas published its full account of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood launched by their military faction, Al-Qassam Brigades, on October 7, 2023, media sources reported. اضافة اعلان

In the published document titled “This is Our Narrative... Why Operation Al-Aqsa Flood?” Hamas stated that the Palestinian battle with the Israeli occupation did not begin on October 7, 2023, but rather 105 years ago, with 30 years under British colonization and 75 years under Israeli occupation.

The document added that the Palestinian people have suffered for decades from all forms of oppression, injustice, apartheid, and the confiscation of basic rights. Continuing to say that Gaza has suffered a continuous suffocating siege for more than 17 years, turning it into the world’s largest open-air prison.

According to recorded data studies, between 2000 and September 2023 (prior to October 7), the Israeli occupation killed 11,299 Palestinians and injured 156,768 others, the majority of them being civilians.

It confirmed that the Israeli occupation has practically destroyed the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state through a fierce campaign to double settlement in the West Bank.

“Was it required of our people to continue waiting and betting on the UN and its helpless institutions?” the document said.

Hamas continued to state that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was a necessary step and a natural response to confront the plans aimed at destroying the Palestinian cause. It was also intended to counter Israel's plans to control the land and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Furthermore, the operation was a natural step toward establishing independence and freedom, as well as the right to self-determination.

It pointed out that the attack focused on the sites belonging to the occupation and in the Gaza envelope settlements and sought to capture the soldiers of the occupation in order to release the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. Hamas targets Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) soldiers and those who carry weapons against the Palestinian people, emphasizing that it attempts to avoid civilians despite not possessing precise weapons and that "if anything happens as a result, it is unintentional."

Hamas confirmed that its resistance is disciplined by the rules and instructions. It stressed that it avoided targeting civilians, especially women, children, and the elderly. “It is a religious and ethical commitment that Hamas members adhere to.”

“We dealt positively with the file of civilians who were captured in the Gaza Strip, and we have been working since day one to release them as soon as possible,” Hamas mentioned in their document.

It also confirmed that the occupation's claims about Al-Qassam Brigades targeting civilians in the October 7 attack are complete fabrications and lies. It stated unequivocally that the charge of killing 40 children was false, as substantiated by Hebrew sources. Furthermore, the idea that resistance members raped Israeli women was proven to be false, and the movement denied it decisively.

It also pointed out that IOF raids are what killed a large number of Israelis who were held captive on October 7. Hamas continued to state that IOF bombing and destruction operations showed Israel’s lack of concern for the lives of its prisoners and its readiness to sacrifice them.

Hamas emphasized that it is a legitimate national liberation movement whose goals derive their legitimacy in resisting occupation from the right of its people to defend themselves. Religious and international laws guarantee the right to resist occupation by any means, including armed resistance.

Hamas called for an immediate cessation of the occupation’s aggression, stopping the crimes and genocide committed by the occupation, lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, entering aid, providing all housing requirements and reconstruction, and legally punishing Israel for its occupation and all the suffering and losses resulting from it.

Hamas emphasized its opposition to any international and Israeli projects that seek to determine the future of the Gaza Strip in a way that corresponds to the occupation's standards and perpetuates its continuation and called for serious efforts to force the occupation to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.

It declared that the Palestinian people have the ability and competence to determine their own future and manage their own internal affairs, and no one is allowed to impose guardianship on them.

It also called for rejecting any attempts to displace the Palestinians and preventing a new Nakba from befalling them. There should be no displacement to Egypt, Jordan, or anywhere else. And if there is any transfer of refugees, it is their right to return to their homes from which they were expelled in 1948.

Furthermore, Hamas urged the world's countries, particularly those in the global south, to adopt a firm position against the Israeli occupation's double standards, and key global powers to cease providing cover for the Zionist state. Since its inception, the US and its allies have treated Israel as if it were above the law, and they provide the necessary cover for Israel's continuous occupation and subjugation of the Palestinian people.

Hamas called on the major countries, specifically the US, Germany, Canada, and the UK, to declare their support for the investigation process into crimes in Palestine and called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to urgently and immediately visit occupied Palestine to investigate all crimes and violations.

It also called for continued popular pressure in the Arab, Islamic, and international nations to end the occupation, as well as the activation of anti-normalization initiatives, boycott of Israeli goods, and boycott of firms and institutions supporting the occupation.

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