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Zionist group sending Trump list of pro-Palestine students for deportation: Report

Press TV – January 25, 2025

An American-Zionist group is reportedly compiling the names of foreign students on visas to hand to the new administration of US President Donald Trump for deportation over holding pro-Palestine demonstrations across university campuses.

The World Betar Movement has initiated a campaign to identify the foreign students in the United States who have participated in anti-Israel activities on college campuses, The New York Post said.

The group is preparing a list of names to provide to the Trump administration, aiming to facilitate the deportation of individuals who condemn Israeli genocide and support Palestinian resistance movements in the Gaza Strip.

The group has about 30 names of students from countries such as Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Canada, and the United Kingdom currently enrolled in some of the top US universities, including Columbia, UPenn, Michigan, Syracuse, UCLA, The New School for Social Research, Carnegie Mellon, and George Washington University, it said.

Accusing the pro-Palestine students of anti-Semitism, Ross Glick, director of the US chapter of Betar, said, “We have started lists of Jew-hating foreign nationals on visas who support Hamas.”

Stressing that Betar is utilizing facial recognition software and advanced database technology to compile the list, Glick said the initiative aligns with Trump’s campaign promise to revoke the student visas of individuals engaging in anti-Semitic activities.

The World Betar Movement is reportedly in contact with Trump administration officials to pursue legal action against foreign students and prevent what they view as the exploitation of the American academic system for anti-Israel purposes.

Trump on Friday issued an executive order allowing the deportation of those non-citizens, including foreign students, who have been supporting US-designated “terrorist” organizations of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and its Lebanese counterpart, Hezbollah, on American soil.

Pro-Palestine students at American and European universities have held widespread rallies and sit-ins across their campuses in support of Gaza since Hamas-led resistance groups launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood into the Israeli-occupied territories on October 7, 2023, in response to the regime’s decades-long crimes against Palestinians.

Israel has killed at least 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 111,000 other individuals in Gaza since the onset of its genocidal war against Gaza, also leaving thousands more missing and presumed dead under the rubble.

Israel was forced to agree to a ceasefire, which began on January 19, after it failed to achieve its declared objectives in the besieged territory.

Palestinians celebrated the ceasefire as a victory with some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners set to be released from Israeli prisons in exchange for Israeli captives held in Gaza.

January 25, 2025 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , | 2 Comments

Israel demands UNRWA end operations in Palestine by Jan. 30

Palestinian Information Center – January 25, 2025

Israel’s permanent representative to the UN Danny Danon has called on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to halt its operations in Occupied Jerusalem and evacuate its premises in the city “no later than January 30,” the day an Israeli ban on the organization is due to take effect.

As the date for the enforcement of the Israeli ban approaches, Danon told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday that UNRWA’s premises in Jerusalem must be vacated as stipulated by law.

The Israeli envoy claimed that the Israeli legislation came as a direct response to the acute national security risks posed by the widespread infiltration of UNRWA’s ranks by Hamas and other armed groups, and the agency’s persistent refusal to address the very grave and material concerns raised by Israel.

Most UN member states consider UNRWA, the largest aid agency for Palestinians, to be the irreplaceable backbone of humanitarian operations. However, few levers have been pulled to try to ensure the agency’s existence.

Asked by Arab News about this discrepancy between public statements of support and meaningful action, and whether it means Western countries are undermining the same multilateral values on which they were founded, UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini said: “The same question could be asked about the importance of international humanitarian law and the blatant and constant disregard of that law.”

“You can ask the same question about the disrespect for the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly. And you can ask the same question about the International Court of Justice’s ruling that Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is illegal, and the court’s call for its withdrawal.”

“And so, it’s obviously frustrating,” Lazzarini added. “What we have witnessed is an extraordinary ‘crisis of impunity,’ to the extent that international humanitarian law is almost becoming irrelevant if no mechanism is put in place to address this impunity.”

Legislation blocking UNRWA from operating within the occupied Palestinian territories was approved overwhelmingly by the Knesset last October. The ban also prevents any Israeli authority from maintaining contact with the relief agency.

Delivery of aid to Gaza and the West Bank requires close coordination between UNRWA and the Israeli occupation authority. If the legislation is executed, Israel will no longer issue work or entry permits for the agency’s staff, while coordination with the Israeli occupation army that is essential for ensuring safe passage for aid deliveries will no longer be possible.

Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, Israel has relentlessly condemned the aid agency and bombed its buildings and personnel. More than 260 of its staff have been killed, while a coordinated Israeli media campaign has attempted to discredit the agency by portraying it as a tool of Hamas.

January 25, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel destroys only water desalination plant in northern Gaza

MEMO | January 25, 2025

The Palestinian Water Authority announced that the occupation army destroyed the water desalination plant during its recent ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip.

It issued a statement that for the sixth consecutive day, its technical crews have been working on assessing the damage in northern Gaza resulting from the Israeli aggression. Due to the massive destruction of residential areas, infrastructure, and roads, they have encountered significant difficulties in their access to water and sanitation facilities.

The Water Authority explained that its technical crews were able to reach the seawater desalination plant in northern Gaza and conduct an initial technical assessment of the extent of damage sustained. The assessment revealed serious technical malfunctions in the electrical and electromechanical components of all the plant’s operations stages and units. Moreover, the occupation completely destroyed some of the plant’s main components, which led to the destruction of five seawater supply wells, the plant’s intake pipeline, two power generators, a pump and a return water line, as well as the destruction of the external fences and output pumps.

The Water Authority confirmed that this plant is the only one serving northern Gaza and the Wadi Gaza area, providing clean water to the entire northwestern neighbourhoods of Gaza City with a production capacity of 10,000 cubic metres per day. There are no alternatives to cover this amount, and it is difficult to drill water wells due to the high salinity of the groundwater reservoir with seawater in the city’s western areas.

It also stressed that the damage to the desalination plants worsens the already dire water situation in Gaza, as it is the only safe and reliable source of drinking water for the population.

The Water Authority confirmed that, within the framework of the first phase of its emergency relief work, it will provide and install ten mobile desalination stations in the central and southern areas of the Gaza Strip. The production capacity of these stations will each reach 25 cubic metres per hour to produce 250 cubic metres for ten hours once operation begins.

It is noted that the mobile desalination station installations will provide emergency and urgent solutions to ensure the continuity of drinking water provision for all citizens.

January 25, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Experts uncover UK’s deep role in Israel’s war on Gaza

MEMO | January 24, 2025

The UK has played a role in Israel’s war on Gaza, while efforts have been taken to suppress media coverage of its actions, speakers at a London seminar told attendees on Wednesday.

Organised by the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) and hosted by Zeinab Kamal, the seminar brought together journalists, legal analysts, and human rights advocates in a discussion of how Britain’s military, financial, and diplomatic engagement with the Israeli occupation helped to facilitate Israel’s war on Gaza.

Investigative journalist Matt Kennard highlighted how a D-notice had been issued on 28 October to suppress media coverage of British special forces in Gaza. A leaked New York Times report confirmed that UK spy teams had been gathering intelligence that Israel, as quoted by an Israeli official, “could not collect on its own”. Despite these revelations, however, British media outlets have remained silent and have reinforced what Kennard called “a media blackout”.

Criticising the Labour Government’s decision to partially suspend 30 out of an estimated 350 arms exports licenses to Israel as “window dressing”, Kennard pointed to the huge role the British military was undertaking in Gaza. He noted that 47 per cent of all reconnaissance flights over Gaza were conducted by the UK, twice as many as Israel’s own. He added that the UK’s legal liability has been called into greater question given the stonewalling of parliamentary questions around the nature of Britain’s military surveillance. He stressed that UK intelligence has likely enabled war crimes and called for full legal scrutiny, particularly regarding the SAS’s 15-month unaccounted deployment.

British human rights lawyer and Director of the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), Tayab Ali, explained how diplomatic manoeuvres and arms exports have directly facilitated Israel’s war on Gaza. He condemned Britain’s continued arms sales to Israel despite mounting evidence of war crimes, arguing that these actions demonstrate the UK’s active participation in the war.

Ali denounced the government’s chronic inability to enforce international law, especially regarding accountability mechanisms like the International Criminal Court (ICC) or similar investigations. He urged civil society and advocacy groups to heighten the pressure through legal actions, grassroots mobilisation, sanctions and judicial challenges against Britain’s complicity.

Political activist and researcher Dr. Samer Jaber focused on the financial ties between UK institutions and Israeli banks that fund settlement expansion, emphasising that these financial lifelines are essential to sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project. Jaber called for immediate legislation to cut off these financial lifelines, asserting that the most effective way to hold Israel accountable is through divestment and economic sanctions.

Director of the British-Palestinian Committee (BPC), Dr. Sara Husseini, placed the discussion in a broader context, noting the increasing repression of pro-Palestinian activism in the UK. She warned of upcoming political moves aimed at normalising Israeli apartheid, including the revival of the Abraham Accords and the bypassing of Palestinian institutions in reconstruction efforts. She called for sustained pressure on UK MPs, the need for Palestinian-led initiatives in policy spaces, and emphasised the importance of building a broad, multi-front movement to challenge the UK’s role.

January 24, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas: Israel will release over 1,700 Palestinians during truce

MEMO | January 24, 2025

Over 1,700 Palestinians will be released under the terms of the ceasefire deal signed between Hamas and Israel, the head of the Palestinian movement in the West Bank, Zahir Jabarin, said yesterday.

He emphasised that “the agreement is progressing despite some violations by the Zionist occupation. However, thanks to the determination of the resistance, the will of our people, and the leverage the resistance possesses, we are moving in the right direction.”

Jabarin added: “Our prisoners will be released, and it will mark a new beginning for all the Palestinian people. The resistance has succeeded in achieving a significant national deal, ensuring the release of over 1,700 Palestinian prisoners representing all Palestinian factions.”

“Once the prisoners are released on the seventh day, our people will be allowed to move freely from the north to the south [Gaza] and vice versa. Maps and phased plans will initially guide this process until all obstacles on the Netzarim Axis are removed.”

Details of the operations of the Rafah Crossing will be announced in the coming days, he added.

With regards to the occupied West Bank where Israeli occupation forces have intensified their military attacks, Jabarin said: “Our people in the West Bank are unarmed and only have simple tools to resist the occupation, yet they portray our people as heavily armed and attacking these occupiers and criminals, who have been equipped with over 200,000 weapons by the Israeli security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.”

January 24, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas: Displaced Palestinians’ return to north Gaza defies Israel’s displacement plans

MEMO | January 24, 2025

The anticipated return to northern Gaza of Palestinians who were forced from their homes demonstrates the failure of one of the war’s key objectives, which was to displace the Palestinian people from their land, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said.

In a brief statement yesterday, Qassem said that the steadfast resilience of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the bravery of the resistance thwarted the latest attempt by the Zionist project to displace Palestinians from their homeland.

He reiterated that the demands of the Palestinian people are clear and just, primarily their right to establish an independent state on their liberated land.

He concluded by stating that no force will ever succeed in ending the Palestinian people’s pursuit of freedom and independence.

January 24, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas releases video of killing Israeli forces responsible for Yahya Sinwar’s assassination

Press TV – January 24, 2025

A newly-released footage by the military wing of Hamas resistance movement, the Al-Qassam Brigade, shows the moment when resistance fighters kill two senior Israeli military officials that were behind the assassination of former Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar.

The video, dubbed the “death ambush series”, is reportedly the first part of such footage set to be released by the group.

A section of the video, dated January 6, shows the moment a senior Israeli commander, his deputy and several Israeli occupation soldiers were killed by a planted bomb in the northern city of Beit Hanoun.

The targeted forces were Major Dvir Zion Revah and his deputy Eitan Israel Shiknazi, who, according to the group, were responsible for the assassination of Sinwar.

The footage relates to days before the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on January 19.

Raveh had also led at least one of the regime’s massacres in Beit Hanoun, according to the Brigade.

Both the assassination and the massacre took place during the regime’s 15-month-long war of genocide against the Palestinian territory that claimed the lives of at least 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since its onset in October 2023.

Tel Aviv finally approved a ceasefire deal earlier this month, succumbing to incessant and successful Palestinian and regional resistance operations.

According to the video, the strike in Beit Hanoun resulted in the injury of several other Israeli forces.

Hamas also referred to a similar operation against an Israeli infantry force advancing in Beit Hanoun’s al-Zaytoun area, causing casualties.

“The enemy acknowledged the death of the deputy commander of the [Israeli military’s] Nahal Brigade and four soldiers, with nine others seriously injured.”

Hamas and its fellow domestic and regional resistance movements have vowed to step up their operations should the regime resume its brutal military onslaught.

https://twitter.com/PressTV/status/1882862180317483312

January 24, 2025 Posted by | Video | , , , | Leave a comment

Harvard blocks Gaza patient session as university adopts controversial anti-Semitism definition

MEMO | January 24, 2025

Harvard Medical School has cancelled a planned lecture and panel discussion featuring patients from Gaza, following complaints that the session would present only one side of the conflict, amid growing concerns about academic freedom after the university’s adoption of a highly controversial definition of anti-Semitism which conflates criticism of Israel and the political ideology of Zionism with anti-Jewish racism.

According to the Harvard Crimson, the medical school’s Dean, George Q Daley, cancelled the 21 January events just hours before they were scheduled, citing objections that students would hear from Gazans receiving care in Boston without also hearing from Israeli perspectives. The session was to include a lecture on wartime healthcare by Tufts Professor Barry S. Levy, followed by discussions with Gaza patients and their families.

HMS and HSDM Student Council President Anna RP Mulhern said she was “deeply disheartened” by the cancellation. “Respect for all patients and their stories is a fundamental tenet of the medical profession. This principle was not upheld yesterday,” she stated.

The cancellation came shortly after Harvard agreed to adopt the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism as part of settling a discrimination lawsuit brought by Jewish students who claimed harassment during pro-Palestine protests. IHRA is favoured by Israel and advocates of the apartheid state as it grants special privileges to the political ideology of Zionism and apartheid state. No other political ideology or state is granted protection from criticism in the same way.

HMS Professor David S Jones, who helped develop the course curriculum, reported receiving 50 emails from students questioning the cancellation. He noted that Arabic-speaking medical students who had served as interpreters for Gazan patients in Boston had requested the session.

Critics argue the decision reflects a broader assault on academic freedom and free speech rights. Journalist Glenn Greenwald, discussing Harvard’s adoption of the IHRA definition, warned it represents “an outright systemic assault on the Free Speech rights of American citizens on the academic freedom that is supposed to prevail in our institutions of higher learning.”

Greenwald highlighted how the IHRA definition prohibits various forms of criticism of Israel that would be perfectly acceptable if directed at other nations. He noted that under these new rules, Harvard students remain free to describe any country, including the US, as fundamentally racist – except Israel. “You can say that the United States and its existence is a racist endeavour, that you’re allowed to say… nobody tries to censor that,” Greenwald explained.

Pick any country in the entire world at Harvard and you are totally free to call the existence of that country a racist endeavour except one country where you fall into the crime of hate speech and that is the state of Israel.

The combination of event cancellations and adoption of the IHRA definition has raised concerns about the chilling effect on academic discourse. Critics argue that medical education, which relies on hearing directly from patients about their experiences, could be particularly impacted if geopolitical considerations begin to override educational ones.

“This is nothing more than an outright systemic assault on the Free Speech rights of American citizens on the academic freedom that is supposed to prevail in our institutions of Higher Learning,” Greenwald concluded, arguing that such restrictions serve “not to protect our own country, our own culture, our own government, the security of our own people but to protect this foreign country.”

January 24, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas sends letter to Israeli captives’ families

Palestinian Information Center – January 24, 2025

GAZA – The Hamas Movement-affiliated Office of Martyrs, Prisoners and Wounded sent a letter in Arabic and Hebrew to the families of Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip.

“As preparations are underway for the release of a second batch of Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip, we have followed with great astonishment the statements made by several Israeli leaders, who have threatened to resume war in the Gaza Strip,” the letter reads.

“Hamas and the Palestinian resistance have demonstrated a strong commitment to preserving the lives of the Israeli captives and ensuring their basic needs are met, despite the genocide, starvation, and targeting endured by our people.”

“Upon reaching the ceasefire agreement and releasing the first group of female captives, we were deeply committed to ensuring their delivery in a civilized and humane manner, unlike the treatment Palestinian detainees experienced during their release.”

“Today, we address this message to you (Israeli captives’ families) in a time of great complexity and pain for all. We feel a great danger in the recent statements made by Israeli political leaders. These remarks signal an imminent threat to everyone, including your loved ones who are still in Gaza,” the statement concluded.

January 24, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | Leave a comment

Flurry of resignations by Gaza war commanders further jolts Israel

Press TV – January 23, 2025

Israel’s largest newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has listed the most high-profile Israeli military figuers who have resigned over failures in the run-up to the Gaza war and after that.

It named chief of the general staff Herzi Halevi, commander of the southern region Yaron Finkelman, commander of the Gaza division Avi Rosenfeld, head of the military intelligence division Aharon Haliva, commander of intelligence unit 8200 Yossi Sariel, and commander of the northern brigade in the Gaza Strip Haim Cohen.

Halevi, according to the paper, took over as chief of staff of the Israeli army at a chaotic time, and was appointed by a transitional administration.

He assumed office at a time when the chief of staff was clashing with the political echelon and in the midst of the judicial overhaul controversy that shook Israel and created serious divisions, it said.

The Israeli military failed miserably in confronting a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which dealt a serious blow to the regime’s myth of invincibility.

Reserve Israeli army general: We are on brink of civil war

Meanwhile, reserve general in the Israeli army Isaac Barak warned of an imminent civil war in the settler society.

He said while Gaza-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance movements have returned to their pre-war status, the Israeli army has fallen apart and that any action to return to war would be disastrous.

“Hamas and Islamic Jihad were able to recuperate. The Israeli society is on the brink of a civil war. The reality is that if the war had continued, the Israeli army would not have been able to defeat Hamas,” Barak said.

The Israeli army, he said, is unable to remain in the places it occupied in the Gaza Strip, and cannot destroy hundreds of kilometers of Hamas tunnels.

If the Gaza war had continued, hundreds more people [a category to which Palestinians semmingly do not belong] would have been killed by the Israeli army; all our prisoners would have died; and Israel would have suffered a terrible disaster, the Israeli general stated.

“The Israeli army failed in its objective of weakening Hamas. Hamas continues to dominate the underground cities in the Gaza Strip with the upper hand, and with thousands of young people joining the ranks of the movement, the losses that Hamas suffered during the war have been offset,” Barak said.

He emphasized that the Israeli army is tired and worn out.

“Any attempt to return to war in the Gaza Strip has already failed, and will result in the deaths of hundreds of more Israeli troops and the injury of thousands more.”

January 23, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas’s strategic survival drives Israel crazy

The Cradle | January 23, 2025

The release of three Israeli female prisoners in Gaza by Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in exchange for 90 Palestinian detainees, triggered a media frenzy in the occupation state.

The dramatic “scene” – fighters emerging amidst the ruins of war, surrounded by a jubilant crowd – undermined official Israeli narratives about the war, its goals, and the treatment of Israeli captives. It raised a sobering question for Israelis: What were we doing in Gaza for 15 months?

The Qassam Brigades orchestrated every detail of the event to maximize impact. From the branded gift bags to the polished uniforms of the fighters, the display exuded calculated precision. A military procession was even held in Saraya Square – an area heavily besieged by Israeli occupation forces. The site’s selection was deliberate, showcasing continued resilience in a location meant to symbolize Tel Aviv’s defeat in its longest military campaign ever. 

Sources in Hamas inform The Cradle that the selection of Gaza City – positioned north of the Gaza Valley and the Netzarim axis, a divide created by the Israeli army to split the strip into two sections, soon expected to be dismantled – was a deliberate and symbolic decision, chosen over other alternatives for its strategic and political implications.

Of course, Hamas had the option to release the female prisoners in “safer” locations, such as central or southern Gaza, but it intentionally chose the square.

Strength through strategy

The delay in handing over the three Israeli prisoners for several hours caused confusion among Israelis, leading to multiple violations of the ceasefire agreement. The Qassam Brigades then surprised the Israeli public by announcing the prisoners’ names before the Israeli government, military, or Hebrew media could do so. Minor logistical issues also briefly delayed the release of the 90 male and female Palestinian prisoners but were quickly resolved.

The three Israeli captives were handed release certificates in both Hebrew and Arabic – mirroring Israeli practices with Palestinian prisoners – and were given souvenirs from Gaza, including a detailed map of the entire strip. According to the sources, these “deliberate and carefully planned steps” were intended to send a clear message to Israel: Hamas is neither defeated nor on the brink of elimination.

Israel’s Channel 12 called the ceasefire agreement a “bag of sarcastic surprises,” but the prisoner exchange’s strength lay elsewhere. For months, Israeli negotiators had tried through Qatari and Egyptian mediation – and failed – to extract a list of the Palestinian prisoners to be freed. 

Hamas refused, citing security risks, and forced Israel to pay a far higher price than in earlier deals. The initial truce on 24 November 2023 saw three Palestinians exchanged per Israeli. Now, after 15 grueling months of war, Israel had to release 10 times that ratio, a clear indication of Tel Aviv’s lost leverage.

That first, brief six-day truce gave Palestinian resistance factions a chance to regroup. Sources reveal that several battalions, battered by relentless Israeli bombings, managed to regain their operational footing during the break. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pushed for continuous pressure without any pause in Israel’s brutal military campaign, the short truce showed Hamas was resilient enough to spring back into form quickly.

Did Hamas achieve victory in Gaza? 

All of this raises the central question: Did Hamas achieve victory in Gaza, and if so, how and why? To answer fully, one must first analyze the foundational and evolving sources of the resistance movement’s strength, examine the mechanisms behind its adaptability and renewal, and finally consider who currently leads the organization, particularly within the Gaza Strip.

Hamas today remains deeply present not only in the Palestinian street but also across the broader Arab and Islamic worlds. Despite the devastation of war, Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which was launched on 7 October 2023, continues to resonate strongly, shaping public and personal sentiment across the globe. Moreover, sources tell The Cradle that these events have fueled significant recruitment, with thousands of young Palestinians joining Hamas’s ranks. 

Even Hebrew media, despite its often propagandistic tone, has acknowledged this phenomenon. While much of Israel’s narrative aims to justify prolonged conflict or the potential resumption of war, occasional admissions reveal the growing appeal of resistance among Palestinians.

Hamas sources argue that Israel has created “a vendetta for generations,” describing the war as not merely a battle against the resistance movement, but a war on all citizens of Gaza. The widespread massacres and destruction have unified the Palestinian street, blurring distinctions between Hamas supporters and others. 

“Those who are not part of Hamas inevitably become part of the resistance,” one source explains, emphasizing that even if Hamas were to cease, a new and perhaps stronger movement would emerge in its stead.

A European security official reportedly shared similar concerns with a Hamas representative in Lebanon. The official warned that Gaza’s estimated 18,000 orphans, created by this war alone, could form a new “liberation army” within a decade, one even fiercer than its predecessors. 

Adaptability and strategic learning 

Hamas has leveraged this dire situation for reconstruction and renewal, refining its strategies and operations. By the sixth month of the war, it was evident that its focus extended beyond ammunition and weaponry to the cultivation of leadership and cadres. 

The Qassam Brigades has prioritized the safety of fighters and the efficiency of operations, ensuring that resources are not squandered and that retreat paths remain secure. Israel’s starvation policy, particularly in northern Gaza, aimed to weaken resistance fighters by restricting vital nutritional elements like animal proteins. Despite these tactics, Hamas adapted swiftly, mitigating the impact through preemptive measures. 

Another critical factor in Hamas’s resilience is its systematic approach to leadership development. Before the war, its military arms, particularly the Qassam Brigades, operated training programs and maintained a semi-official military academy. 

This structure allowed the group to maintain high-caliber leadership despite the assassination of many of the movement’s commanders. Expertise in manufacturing weapons and missiles was rapidly transferred, ensuring continuity in operations. 

Intel warfare 

Hamas’s intelligence apparatus also played a pivotal role, in which “secrecy” was maintained over key information. Sources tell The Cradle that the movement’s security infrastructure, including the intelligence arm of the Qassam Brigades, General Security, and Internal Security, was critical in preserving the organization’s structure and integrity throughout the war. 

“As long as the security apparatus is strong, the movement will endure,” one source notes. Even as Israeli forces targeted intelligence members, Hamas adapted, employing thousands, securing prisoners, and transferring money – within its existing security frameworks and new methods developed during the war. 

The resistance movement also demonstrated remarkable counterintelligence capabilities. Israeli forces, dissatisfied with their aerial and technical surveillance, resorted to storming locations not just for military gains but to install surveillance equipment to try to fill their intel gaps. Meanwhile, Hamas prioritized operational secrecy, closely monitoring journalists and photographers among displaced communities to prevent leaks that could endanger fighters or their families. The source explains it thus: 

“As long as the security apparatus is present and strong, the movement will remain fine … It does not matter how weak it is militarily, politically, or even financially; what is important is that security remains fine. After months of military combat, the battle turned into an intelligence war, specifically between the Qassam Intelligence and the Shin Bet.”

Leadership in Gaza: Who leads Hamas? 

Following the martyrdom of Yahya Sinwar – the powerful and intelligent Hamas leader and ‘architect’ of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood – the resistance movement refrained from announcing a new political bureau chief, leaving questions about its leadership unanswered. The Cradle sources confirm, however, that the movement is currently governed by a five-member committee representing Gaza, the West Bank, and the diaspora, with Musa Abu Marzouk playing a key role in international relations. 

Israeli media has frequently speculated about the role of Mohammad Sinwar, Yahya’s brother, portraying him as a central, uncompromising figure in Hamas’s decision-making. The younger Sinwar’s life is no less mysterious than that of the Qassam Brigades Military Commander Mohammed Deif, and he has also been subjected to six assassination attempts during the last 30 years. 

While Mohammad Sinwar lacks a political or security background, his expertise as a brigade and operations commander has made him a formidable figure in Gaza’s resistance. Reports suggest that during negotiations, Israel even proposed deporting the younger Sinwar to resolve the conflict – an offer Hamas dismissed. 

Although Israeli reports often personalize and exaggerate leadership roles – often right before an assassination attempt – insiders stress that Hamas operates as an institution, not as a personality-driven movement. This institutional framework has been key to its resilience, enabling it to withstand external pressure and internal challenges. 

Despite the devastation wrought by the war, Hamas has succeeded in fortifying its institutional framework and maintaining cohesion – a rare feat among Palestinian factions. While Yahya Sinwar’s leadership during pivotal operations, such as Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, demonstrates the movement’s strategic acumen, the true source of Hamas’s strength lies in its collective and institutional structure. This framework has enabled it to endure even the most extreme challenges.

Without this institutional resilience, Hamas’s gains would likely have disintegrated early in the conflict, handing the occupation state the decisive political victory it sought – a victory that remains unattained.

January 23, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas commander’s reappearance on video belies Israeli claim of killing him

Press TV – January 23, 2025

The reappearance of a high-ranking commander of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in a video clip has belied the Israeli military’s claim of killing him in the northern Gaza Strip last May.

The Palestinian media outlet Arab48 released footage of Hussein Fayyad at a funeral in northern Gaza on Wednesday as he was speaking among a group of people amid the ruins of a bombed-out building.

The video, which was widely shared on social media, showed Fayyad praising Gaza’s resistance against the Israeli regime’s months-long aggression and dismissing the onslaught as futile.

“When the strong do not achieve their goals, they are defeated, but the weak, which prevented the strong from achieving their goals, are the victors,” the Hamas commander said. “Gaza has emerged unbreakable. We all saw yesterday how Gaza stood victorious with its head held high.”

The Israeli occupation army claimed in May last year that Fayyad, the commander of the Beit Hanoun Brigade of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, had been “eliminated” in an underground operation in Jabaliya tunnel, north of Gaza City.

Following the release of the footage on Wednesday, the Israeli military was forced to admit that its claim of killing the Hamas commander was based on flawed intelligence.

Fayyad’s reappearance once again raised questions about Israel’s battlefield claims in Gaza as the regime has in the past erroneously claimed the killing of key Palestinian figures.

The Israeli regime was forced to agree to a ceasefire agreement with Hamas on Sunday, which put an end to more than 15 months of merciless aggression on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Israel’s brutal onslaught on the besieged territory, which started on October 7, 2023, killed more than 47,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 112,000 others.

The toll continues to climb as families return to the ruins of their former homes following the ceasefire, searching for the bodies of loved ones left in the aftermath. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported that around 10,000 bodies are still unaccounted for beneath the rubble.

January 23, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | 1 Comment