Prepared by the researche : Azhar Khaled FarajAllah / PhD Researcher /Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University
Democratic Arabic Center
Journal of Political Trends : Twenty-ninth Issue – December 2024
A Periodical International Journal published by the “Democratic Arab Center” Germany – Berlin
:To download the pdf version of the research papers, please visit the following link
The Gaza Strip is 41 kilometers long, 6 to 12 kilometers wide, and has a total area of 365 square kilometers. The Gaza Strip is home to approximately 2 million Palestinians, making the population density remarkably high, comparable to that of Hong Kong. The majority of Palestinians in Gaza, which contains eight refugee camps, are descendants of refugees who fled or were expelled from the Israeli-occupied area after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Sunni Muslims make up the majority of Gaza’s population, with a Palestinian Christian minority. Gaza’s annual population growth rate is 1.99% (2023 est.), making it the 39th highest in the world.
The city fell into the hands of Israel after 1967, to remain under occupation for 27 years and suffer from Israeli neglect like the rest of the occupied Palestinian Arab cities. The occupation authorities confiscated common areas of Gaza’s lands and established many settlements on them.
The area of the Israeli settlements in Gaza Strip was approximately 155 square kilometers, and as for the block surrounding Gaza City, which is the northern block, the settlements that are connected to Israel are distributed via transverse roads that ensure easy communication, including:
Erez Settlement: Established in 1968 AD directly on the northern border of the Gaza Strip.
Eli Sinai Settlement: Located 1 km east of the seashore, completely adjacent to the northern border of the Gaza Strip, it is an agricultural settlement established in 1983 to accommodate a number of settlers who were evacuated from Sinai following the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement.
Nisanit Settlement: Located 5 km east of the beach, it is also an agricultural settlement established in 1982 to accommodate a number of settlers who were evacuated from Sinai.
Netzarim Settlement: Established in 1972 to divide the Gaza Strip into two parts, north and south. It is located 1 km east of the beach, 1 km west of the main road, and 4 km south of Gaza. Due to the large area of this settlement, its distinguished location south of Gaza City, and the problems resulting from this settlement, it became a settlement bloc in its own right.
In 1987, the residents of Gaza City became involved early in the first Palestinian Intifada. The Unified National Leadership of the Intifada distributed weekly bulletins in the streets of Gaza with a schedule for the strike accompanied by daily protests against Israeli patrols in the city. In the demonstrations, tires were burned in the streets, and crowds threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the occupation soldiers. The Israeli army responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Schools in Gaza City were forcibly closed, gradually reopening for a few hours. Arrests were carried out outside homes, and curfews and travel bans were imposed, which Palestinians saw as collective punishment. In response to the school closures, home-schooling sessions were organized to help students catch up on missed material, which became one of the few symbols of civil disobedience. The Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip on August 15, 2005, by decision of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, after their establishment 38 years ago. After that, 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and 4 settlements in the West Bank were dismantled. However, Israel maintained a blockade of Gaza by land, sea and air. After Hamas won a large number of seats in the Palestinian parliament in the elections, many scattered skirmishes broke out between elements of the Fatah and Hamas movements, and the matter reached its peak in mid-June 2007, when Hamas took control of the entire Gaza Strip and its security and governmental institutions.
Dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip participated in several marches in support of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is being repeatedly raided by Israeli settlers. The marches, which were organized by institutions and organizations working for Jerusalem, including the “Association of Palestinian Scholars” and the “Jerusalem Committee in the Legislative Council in Gaza City”, toured and stopped in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, west of the Strip.
The march participants raised banners, some of which read “Al-Aqsa is the honor and faith of the nation”, and “The banner of Al-Aqsa will not fall even if our arms are amputated.”
Ahmed Abu Halabiya, head of the Jerusalem Committee in the Legislative Council in Gaza City (run by Hamas and dissolved by the Palestinian Constitutional Court in 2018), said: “Jewish groups are preparing to organize the largest waves of attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque, storm it, and violate its sanctity during the holiday season.” He added, in a speech on the sidelines of his participation in the march: “The occupation has on its agenda making Al-Aqsa Mosque an open field for performing prayers, rituals and religious rites, with talk returning to dividing it temporally and spatially.” He added that “the political, legal, security and religious components of the (Israeli) occupation all meet at one goal, which is to impose full Jewish sovereignty over Al-Aqsa and consolidate the oppression over it.”
He called on the Palestinians to “tighten their travels to Al-Aqsa and stay there, especially during the Jewish holidays and confront the Zionist intruders,” calling on the Palestinian factions to “defend it.”
He called on the scholars of the Arab and Islamic nation to “educate the peoples to rise up in defense of the holy places and Al-Aqsa,” adding: “The Arab and Islamic masses, bodies and associations must show solidarity with Al-Aqsa by launching activities and demonstrations.” He also appealed to Jordan, which has religious authority over the holy places in the city of Jerusalem, to “deter the occupation that is infringing on its religious responsibilities towards Al-Aqsa.”
Earlier on Sunday, Israeli settlers stormed the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy police guard, coinciding with the start of their holidays. The Jewish holidays begin with Rosh Hashanah on September 25 and end on October 16 with the Feast of Tabernacles. In recent days, right-wing Israeli groups have called for intensified raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque, to which Palestinian activists responded by calling for “traveling to the mosque” and holding a sit-in there. Since 2003, the Israeli police have allowed settlers to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Mughrabi Gate, in the western wall of the mosque, without the approval of the Islamic Waqf Department, which demands an end to the raids. The raids on the mosque increase during Israeli holidays.
With all these incursions and the occupation’s desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the people of Gaza revolted to support Al-Aqsa Mosque, and this led to many wars, as the Strip was exposed to many Israeli attacks, some of which were assassinations of Palestinian resistance leaders and some of which turned into wars, as the Gaza Strip went through many wars from 7 to 8 wars, as Israel declared the Gaza Strip a hostile entity in September 2007, and in October of the same year it imposed a comprehensive siege on it with the aim of ending Hamas’ rule in the Strip and eliminating the Palestinian national resistance and preventing it from bombing Israel with missiles, as in the 2008-2009 war, Israel’s goal was to reach the place where the resistance was hiding the Israeli prisoner Gilad Shalit, but it did not succeed in doing so except through the Wafa al-Ahrar deal. The attacks on the Gaza Strip and the wars continued, and the Palestinian resistance was growing in strength and developing its weapons and military capabilities, as it started with stones in the first intifada until it reached missiles.
Gaza blockade:
The Gaza Strip has been subject to a stifling blockade imposed by Israel since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007, which includes preventing or rationing the entry of fuel, building materials, and many basic goods, and preventing deep-sea fishing.
The long and stifling blockade has resulted in the shutdown of all factories and an increase in the unemployment rate to exceed 80%, becoming the highest unemployment rate in the world, in addition to a severe shortage of medicines and all medical supplies, and the death of about 400 patients in just 9 months due to their inability to travel for treatment in other countries or due to the lack of equipment and medicines necessary for their treatment. The construction movement has also been completely halted, which has increased the crisis for the owners of homes destroyed in the war on Gaza, which number more than 4,100 homes and apartments.
Regarding the issue of exports from Gaza, the Israeli authorities agreed, under the agreement on movement and access that it signed with the Palestinian Authority in September 2005, to allow 400 trucks to leave Gaza daily. Despite this agreement, the number of trucks allowed to leave is very small, in addition to the Israeli authorities preventing the export of Gazan products to the West Bank, where they are exported to other countries, as only small quantities of fruits, vegetables and furniture are allowed to be exported. It is worth noting that in 2014, the Israeli authorities allowed only three trucks to leave the Gaza Strip per week, compared to 240 trucks that were allowed to leave before the imposition of the blockade in 2006. The number of trucks allowed to leave the Gaza Strip in 2014 is estimated at half the weekly average of trucks that were allowed to leave the Gaza Strip before the blockade, and with regard to the agricultural sector in the Strip, it decreased in 2014 to about 2.7% of what it was before the blockade.
Rafah Crossing: The Rafah Crossing is located on the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, and is the only land crossing that allows Palestinians to exit the Strip to Egypt and from there to all countries of the world. Before the complete Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, the crossing was completely under Israeli administration. After the Israeli withdrawal, the Palestinian National Authority took over and Israel stipulated the presence of European observers. After the power struggle between Fatah and Hamas, which ended with Hamas deciding the situation in its favor, Hamas security forces took over. Problems arose between Hamas and Egypt due to the Egyptian government’s rejection of Hamas’s control over Gaza, and the crossing was partially closed to open only two days a week. After the Israeli attacks on one of the ships breaking the siege that was carried out by private European institutions and the killing of 9 Turks by the Israeli occupation army, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the crossing to be opened permanently in 2010. After the Egyptian revolution and the fall of the Mubarak regime, the crossing was fully opened in 2011 without any restrictions, and the movement of passengers proceeded smoothly, and the arbitrary deportation system for Palestinian passengers was abolished, which angered the Israeli government, which sent the director of Israeli intelligence, Amos Gilad, to meet with the director of Egyptian intelligence. After their meeting, the crossing was closed for four days, giant wooden poles were placed, and dozens of Egyptian soldiers were deployed to prevent passengers from storming the crossing gate under the pretext of maintenance work. After that, the crossing was opened, but partially, as the Egyptian side does not allow more than 250 people to pass daily, in addition to a large list of people from the Gaza Strip who are prohibited from entering Egyptian territory or passing through it.
Electricity Crisis
Due to the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip due to Israel not allowing sufficient quantities of fuel to enter, a serious crisis arose in the form of power outages, and the crisis reached varying peaks in which electricity was cut off for periods of up to 16 hours a day or more, and even the only power station stopped completely for periods in 2008, and the Palestinian dispute exacerbated the problem due to disagreements over collecting electricity bills, which prompted citizens to rely on electric generators.
The use of electric generators caused many casualties among the residents of the Gaza Strip, between dead and wounded and material damage, due to the danger of dealing with highly flammable fuel. Or due to problems in ventilation of the exhaust fumes from them, and the number of deaths due to small electric generators exceeded hundreds. The power outage also affects aspects of life in Gaza in terms of its connection to the outside world, the spoilage of food supplies in it, and material losses for business owners and shops.
The electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip is constantly renewed as a result of the National Consensus Government imposing a “blue” tax on the fuel needed to operate the only power station in the Gaza Strip.[52] In normal conditions, the number of hours of electricity supply is 8 hours compared to 8 hours of disconnection. When the crisis reoccurs, the power station is forced to stop working due to its inability to purchase fuel at the new price after the tax, so the number of hours of supply becomes 6 hours compared to 12 hours of disconnection, which casts a disastrous shadow over various aspects of life in the besieged Strip. The Government of National Accord exempts Gaza from the tax for limited periods, which threatens to renew the crisis every time the government reimposes this tax. The chronic shortage of electricity has worsened the situation in the Gaza Strip over the past years. With the cessation of Egyptian fuel smuggling through the border tunnels, the number of hours of operation of the only power station in Gaza has decreased, which has affected various aspects of life. The greatest damage was to the health sector, which relies mainly on electricity to operate sensitive medical devices and monitor heart patients, forcing hospitals to postpone some urgent surgeries. The insufficient electricity supply has led to further water shortages in homes and to water treatment plants reducing their cycles, as they rely mainly on electricity to operate their pumps. Some Gazans have had to use unsafe backup generators that the poor cannot afford to cover the gap caused by the continuous power outages.
The Al-Aqsa Flood War
Given the Judaization and desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the siege that the people of Gaza have been subjected to for more than 17 years, the Palestinian resistance factions, led by Hamas, took a very large military step by breaching the barrier and launching a ground attack on the Gaza envelope in the early hours of the morning of October 7, 2023, where it was announced that the operation was in response to the Israeli violations in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the attacks of Israeli settlers on Palestinian citizens in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the occupied interior. The Al-Aqsa Flood operation began through a large-scale missile attack launched by the resistance factions, as thousands of missiles were directed towards various Israeli settlements from Dimona in the south to Hod Hasharon in the north and Jerusalem in the east. This coincided with a ground invasion by the resistance via four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, gliders, and others into the towns adjacent to the Strip, which are known as the Gaza envelope. Gaza, [106] where they took control of a number of military sites, especially in Sderot, reached Ofakim, stormed Netivot, and engaged in violent clashes in the three settlements and in other settlements. They also captured a number of soldiers and civilians and took them to Gaza, in addition to seizing a group of Israeli military vehicles. On October 9, the Israeli occupation army announced that it had regained control of all the towns that the Palestinian resistance factions had taken over in the Gaza Strip envelope, with some scattered skirmishes continuing. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced the beginning of what he called a comprehensive siege on Gaza, including a ban on the entry of food and fuel.
The Israeli occupation army launched a military operation against the Gaza Strip, called Operation “Iron Swords”, and began with an intensive air strike on the Strip. The military operation quickly turned into a war that lasted for about a year and two months. The Israeli occupation committed the most horrific crimes and murders of Palestinian citizens in Gaza, which has so far resulted in nearly 42,000 martyrs. Israel is following various policies to eliminate the Palestinians, including killing, displacement, homelessness, starvation, destruction of infrastructure, and cutting off electricity and water. Life in the Gaza Strip has become non-existent and unfit due to the absence of security and safety, the massive destruction, and the lack of food, electricity, water, and basic necessities of life. The occupation authorities have also separated the north of the Strip from its south, and starved the people as a collective punishment for what happened on October 7. Netanyahu’s goal has now become clear, which is to end the Palestinian presence. The Israeli authorities are destroying the spirit of resistance and breaking its will by assassinating its leaders, as great leaders in the Hamas movement were assassinated such as Saleh al-Arouri, Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and many others, as a message to the people that we will kill anyone who tries to fight us. I can go on to narrate the sequence of developments of the major events of the genocidal war on Gaza:
** 2023:
– October 7: The Surprise Attack
– Hamas launched a double attack that included the launch of about 5,000 rockets and the infiltration of armed men into Israeli settlements and military sites adjacent to the Strip (known as the Gaza Envelope, which includes 3 sites and 7 settlements), followed by the infiltration of elements from other Palestinian factions, as Muhammad Deif, the commander-in-chief of the “Qassam Brigades”, announced the start of “Al-Aqsa Flood” in response to the Israeli attacks in the West Bank and Al-Aqsa Mosque, which resulted in the killing of 1,200 Israelis and the injury of 5,431.
– The Israeli army responded with initial raids in an operation called “Iron Swords”, while Netanyahu said that Israel was in a “state of war”, coinciding with the tightening of the siege imposed since mid-2006 by closing all crossings and borders.
– October 8: Hezbollah Enters the War
Hezbollah fires rockets towards areas in northern Israel, while the army responds by bombing southern Lebanon. The mutual attacks continue, as the party and Palestinian factions link the cessation of the bombing to ending the war of extermination on Gaza.
October 13: Evacuation of Gaza
– Israel warned residents of the Gaza and northern Gaza governorates, where about 1.2 million Palestinians live, to evacuate their homes and head to the southern Gaza Valley area.
October 17: The “Baptist” massacre
More than 500 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli bombing that targeted the vicinity of the Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza. After the army officially claimed responsibility for the bombing, it deleted its statement and disavowed its responsibility following the widespread international outrage it caused.
October 19: The Houthis Enter the War
– The Houthi group entered the war, launching missiles and drones from Yemen and intercepting them, while later confirming that its attacks would continue until the genocidal war on Gaza stops.
– October 21: First Aid Convoy
The first aid convoy entered Gaza, including 20 trucks, most of which were carrying medical and food supplies, after 13 days of tight siege. Later, the entry of aid continued to be scarce, not exceeding 100 trucks per day, at a time when the Strip was receiving about 600 trucks of health and humanitarian supplies per day before the outbreak of the war.
– October 27: Beginning of the Ground Operation
The Israeli ground operation began in the northern governorate and extended to Gaza and the central and southern governorates in the following weeks and months, under the pretext of releasing prisoners and eliminating Hamas’s military power.
– October 31: Jabalia Massacre
The Israeli army bombed a crowded residential neighborhood in Jabalia camp, killing and wounding 400 Palestinians, most of them children, while detailed figures on the number of dead and wounded were not available.
– November 15: The First Storming of “Al-Shifa”
– For 10 days, the Israeli army stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City after a week-long siege and raids targeting its surroundings, with allegations of the existence of tunnels that were later refuted, while patients and premature babies were killed during the operation, and no official figures were issued regarding their numbers.
– November 17: Famine
UNRWA announced that the Palestinians of Gaza and the north were “on the brink of starvation” as they resorted to eating animal feed and grass at the time, due to Israel preventing the arrival of relief aid except in very small quantities, as death from starvation threatens about 800 thousand people there, amid the ongoing cycle of starvation and thirst against them. – November 18: Al-Fakhoura massacre
The Israeli army bombed a school housing thousands of displaced people in Jabalia camp, killing 200 Palestinians, according to official Palestine TV.
– November 24: Temporary Truce
With Qatari, Egyptian and American interventions, a temporary four-day truce began between Israel and Hamas, which was extended for two additional days, then one day; during which a temporary ceasefire was established, prisoners were exchanged, and humanitarian aid was brought into the Strip.
– December 3: Ground Operation in KhanYunis
The Israeli army begins a ground operation north of Khan Yunis (south), claiming that the Hamas leadership headquarters is located in the city, threatening to evacuate several neighborhoods, which were then housing displaced people who came from Gaza and the north after the army classified it as a “safe zone”, while it withdrew on April 7, 2024.
– December 15: Israeli Prisoners Killed by “Friendly Fire”
The Israeli army announced that it had killed 3 detainees held by Hamas by mistake, during the battles taking place in the Shuja’iyya area east of Gaza City.
– December 29: “Genocide” Case
South Africa filed a case against Israel before the International Court of Justice, accusing it of committing “genocide”, and was later joined by 7 other countries.
– On January 26, 2024, the court ordered Tel Aviv, under the case, to take “measures to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
** 2024
– January 3: Assassination of al-Arouri
Israel assassinated Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, in a bombing that targeted the movement’s headquarters in a residential area on one of the busiest streets in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
– February 15: First Raid on Nasser Medical Complex
The Israeli army stormed Nasser Central Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, for 10 days, during which it killed dozens of displaced Palestinians, medical staff and patients inside the hospital, and arrested hundreds of displaced people in addition to carrying out operations to destroy and bomb buildings and various departments in the hospital.
– February 29: “Flour Massacre”
The Israeli army opened fire on hundreds of Palestinians as they gathered south of Gaza City waiting for aid on Rashid Street, leaving 118 dead and 760 wounded, while the number of starvation deaths rose to 400 and 1,300 wounded during a new attack on March 12 against Palestinians waiting for aid in the “Kuwait Roundabout” area.
– March 8: The Sea Pier
US President Joe Biden announced that he had instructed his army to establish a temporary port (sea pier) near the coast of Gaza, to bring in humanitarian aid to the Gaza and North Governorates under Israeli supervision. It was put into operation on May 17. It stopped working and was withdrawn on July 10, without providing 1 percent of the needs of the Strip amid accusations that it was being used for military purposes.
– March 18: Second Raid on Al-Shifa Hospital
The Israeli army stormed Al-Shifa complex for the second time for 14 days before withdrawing, revealing horrific scenes of widespread destruction to its buildings, and the burial of Palestinian bodies, including women, in mass and individual graves, some of which were found decomposed, burned or dismembered.
– March 24: Second Raid on Nasser Medical Complex
The Israeli army stormed Nasser Medical Complex and occupied it for about two weeks (it left on April 7). The government media office in Gaza confirmed that the army executed hundreds of Palestinians inside it, saying that they found a mass grave containing martyrs who were alive before the raid.
– March 25: Ramadan Ceasefire Resolution
For the first time since the outbreak of the Israeli war, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the month of Ramadan, but Israel did not commit to implementing it.
– March 26: Hamas’s Second-in-Command Claimed to have been Assassinated
The Israeli army claimed to have assassinated Marwan Issa, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Qassam Brigades, in a bombing in the central Gaza Strip two weeks ago, while Hamas and Qassam did not comment on the matter.
– April 2: Killing of Employees of the “World Kitchen”
Israel killed 7 employees of Australian, Polish, British, American, Canadian and Palestinian nationalities in an airstrike targeting a convoy of the “World Kitchen” organization in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, despite their coordination with the army, which was met with Arab and international condemnation.
– April 9: Turkey, Israel and Trade Relations
In response to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, the Turkish Ministry of Trade restricted the export of 54 products to Israel, while on May 2 it announced “stopping these transactions, which include all products”; After Tel Aviv ranked 13th among the countries to which Turkey exported its products in 2023.
– April 13: The First Iranian Attack
In the first attack from its territory on Israel against the backdrop of escalating tensions due to the war of extermination raging in Gaza, Iran launched 350 missiles and drones at Israel, in response to a missile attack by the latter that targeted the consular section of the Tehran embassy in Damascus at the beginning of the same month.
– May 6: Operation in Rafah despite International Warnings
The Israeli army announced the start of a military operation in Rafah, ignoring international warnings of the repercussions of this on the lives of displaced Palestinians in the city, while the next day it took control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, and most of its residents were displaced.
– May 24: Israel Ordered to Stop its Operations in Rafah
The International Court of Justice orders Israel to stop its military operations in Rafah, following a petition submitted by South Africa.
– May 26: Rafah Massacre
Israeli fighter jets bombed a camp for displaced persons in Al-Mawasi in Rafah city with several missiles, committing a massacre that resulted in the killing of 45 Palestinians, including 23 women and elderly people, and about 249 injured.
– May 29: Control of “Philadelphia”
The Israeli army announced operational control (by fire) of the Philadelphi axis on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, while it had taken military control of it with the presence of its vehicles on June 7.
– May 31: Biden’s Proposal
US President Joe Biden said in a speech at the White House that “Israel has presented a 3-stage proposal, including a complete ceasefire, an Israeli withdrawal from all areas, a prisoner exchange, and reconstruction.”
On July 2, Hamas agreed to the proposal based on Biden’s vision, before Netanyahu turned against it and added new conditions.
– June 8: Nuseirat Massacre
274 Palestinians, including 64 children and 57 women, were killed in a massacre committed by Israeli forces after heavy artillery and air strikes targeted the Nuseirat camp (central), in an operation to free 4 Israeli prisoners, which was met with Arab, regional and international condemnations.
– June 10: Draft Resolution Supporting Biden’s Proposal
The UN Security Council adopted draft resolution No. 2735 supporting President Biden’s proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, which he announced on May 31.
– June 25: 95 Percent Hungry
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification issues a report stating that 95 percent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are suffering from varying degrees of famine.
– July 11: The Philadelphia Crisis
Netanyahu’s condition that the Israeli army remain in “Philadelphia” under the pretext of preventing “arms smuggling” to Hamas, was one of four conditions for accepting the ceasefire deal, a major turning point at the beginning of this crisis that fundamentally caused the negotiations to falter and no solution to be reached, despite Egyptian and American rejection of it.
– July 13: The first Mawasi massacre in KhanYunis
The Israeli army launched airstrikes on the camps for displaced persons in the “Nas” area, killing 90 Palestinians and wounding 300 others, as Israel claimed to have targeted “(the commander-in-chief of the Qassam Brigades) Muhammad al-Deif and his deputy Rafi Salama,” which Hamas denied.
– July 31: The Assassination of Haniyeh
Israel assassinated the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, with a missile attack that targeted his residence in Tehran, the day after he participated in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, amidst multiple condemnations and warnings of regional escalation.
– August 6: Sinwar Named Hamas Leader
Hamas announced the selection of its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, as head of its political bureau, succeeding Haniyeh.
– August 10: The Massacre of the Followers
More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens more were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted them while they were performing dawn prayers at the “Tabi’in” school, which houses displaced people in Gaza City.
– August 12: An Israeli Prisoner was Killed
Al-Qassam announced the killing of an Israeli prisoner and the serious wounding of two others in two separate incidents in which two soldiers assigned to guard them opened fire on them in retaliation, saying that one of the soldiers learned of the killing of his two children in a massacre in Gaza and killed one of the prisoners.
– August 16: Agreement to Reduce Gaps
The United States presented a new proposal to reduce gaps between Israel and Hamas, which a joint statement by Egypt, Qatar and the United States said was “consistent with the principles presented by Biden on May 31,” but Hamas said it did not include commitment to what was agreed upon on July 2.
– August 18: Thousands of Bodies Evaporate
In a shocking statement, the Civil Defense Authority in Gaza announced that it had monitored the “evaporation of 1,760 bodies”, of which they found no trace due to the Israeli army’s use of internationally prohibited weapons, and that they were not registered in the relevant records. They also indicated that 8,240 bodies had been forcibly disappeared, and their fate is unknown since the outbreak of the war.
– August 20: Reducing the “Safe Zone”
The UN agency “UNRWA” warned that Israel had reduced what it calls the “safe zone” in Gaza to only 11 percent of the area of the Strip, following its reduction in the city of Khan Yunis.
– August 20: Recovering the Bodies of 6 Israeli Prisoners
The Israeli army announced the recovery of the bodies of 6 of its prisoners who had been held in Gaza since October 7 in a joint operation with the General Security Service “Shabak”.
– August 28: Major Operation in the West Bank
The Israeli army launched a military operation in Jenin and Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, described as the “largest” in two decades, lasting 10 days in the first city and 48 hours in the second.
– August 30: Israel Approves Remaining in Philadelphia
The Israeli Security and Political Affairs Council (the Cabinet) approved the continued presence of army forces in Philadelphia as part of any planned prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement, which sparked criticism from Israeli political and security levels.
– September 9: Gaza without Schools
The new school year began in schools in the occupied West Bank without the Gaza Strip, whose students are deprived of school for the second year in a row due to the genocidal war waged by Israel.
– September 10: Second Massacre in Mawasi KhanYunis
The Israeli army bombed the tents of displaced people in the Mawasi area west of KhanYunis, killing 40 Palestinians and wounding 60 others, in addition to dozens of missing persons.
The massacres in Gaza are still ongoing, without any intervention from any concerned international body. Here, all masks fall, the masks of human rights, international law, the United Nations and many others. Whatever does not apply to Gaza, all its masks fall.
The Position of Arab and Islamic Countries towards What Is Happening in Gaza
All Arab and Islamic countries reject the Israeli attacks on Gaza, but everything that Arab leaders say is just ink on paper, as there is no real action to deter Israel from its war massacres and genocide in Gaza. The latest announcement was the Arab-Islamic summit chaired by Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on November 11 of this month, as the summit aimed to follow up on the results and recommendations of the previous summit, continue ceasefire efforts, facilitate the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid, in addition to discussing the continued escalation of Israeli aggression on the Palestinian territories and Lebanon. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said about the summit that it aims to “unify positions and pressure the international community to move seriously to stop the ongoing attacks and find sustainable solutions that guarantee stability and peace in the region.” The Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip need the concerted efforts of Arab and Islamic nations to end the war and obtain their legitimate rights. They also need the concerted efforts of Arab people as we knew them before the events of the Arab Spring. The Arab nation needs to wake up from its deep sleep and defend the Palestinian cause, which is the cause of every honorable and free Muslim, and not the cause of the Palestinian alone.
The hopes of Palestinians in Gaza are shaped by decades of hardship, war, and the struggle for self-determination. Amid the relentless blockade and periodic wars, Gazans continue to dream of a future where they can live in peace, free from the cycles of violence that have defined their existence for so long. For many, this means the realization of a sovereign Palestinian state, with Gaza as a vital part of it, where they can enjoy security, dignity, and access to basic services like healthcare, education, and clean water. Yet, the hopes of Gazans are also deeply intertwined with their desire for an end to occupation and for justice for the suffering they have endured. While many see the path to peace through negotiations and a two-state solution, others are disillusioned by the lack of progress and increasingly turn to resistance, believing that their only chance for liberation lies in their collective strength. Despite the difficult circumstances, there remains a sense of resilience and unity in Gaza, with many believing that a peaceful and prosperous future is possible, even if it seems distant. Our message is clear as the sun, our cause is just as a sword, and our people, all our people, are a support for the resistance. To the heroes of the resistance, continue on your path. May God make your steps firm and grant you victory over your enemy, for victory is inevitable, for it is the true promise of God. Long live a free Arab Palestine, long live the resistance, long live the struggling Palestinian people, long live Gaza, long live Gaza.
