Hamas leader: ‘We salute all supporting resistance fronts’

This edited statement was issued by the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyseh, on Nov. 1, 2023.

The brutal, criminal, terrorist war against Gaza and its people continues for the 26th day. Our people and fighters face it with full valor and capability, drawing the map of the homeland with their pure blood. They bear what mountains cannot in sacrifices and steadfastness and martyrs, demonstrating patience in the face of wounds and pain.

O people of Gaza, the noble, the sacrificing, the redeeming, the giant heroes who are engaged in this decisive battle between two axes: the axis of freedom-loving and justice-seeking people, and the axis of racism and fascism.

This is a decisive battle between those who believe in human peace, tolerance, and civilized coexistence, and the new Nazis, backed by colonial powers that trample all values for their interests and bloody mentality.

On the 26th day of this heroic epic of our resistance and our people, and facing the genocidal war waged by the new Nazis, we stand in reverence and admiration to the legendary steadfastness of our people despite the enormous bloodshed, the numerous martyrs and wounded, especially from the recent brutal massacres in the Jabalia, Nuseirat, Shati and Fallujah camps, or rather, the extended massacre across the beloved Gaza Strip.

With this steadfastness and determination, and adherence to the homeland, our people have thwarted the enemy’s plans for a new Nakba of displacement and diaspora.

We express our pride in this honorable resistance, which teaches the enemy new military lessons every day, built on the shoulders of faithful men with great courage. The Al-Qassam Brigades and resistance factions fight them on all fronts, heroically confronting their tanks and continuous bombardment.

The enemy begins its ground war in light of a shaky decision and a divided leadership. The heroic fighters make them taste the bitterness of death, inflicting death and the wounded upon them.

We assure the criminal Zionist enemy and those who support it that their futile attempts to cover their failures by committing brutal massacres against unarmed civilians will not save them from a resounding defeat in Al-Aqsa Flood.

You were defeated on the glorious seventh of October, and now you stumble in your ground invasion that you carried out against our brave heroes and our unarmed people. You are gradually announcing some of your losses, but what our Brigades know, and what they will reveal, is much more significant and will shock you, your people, and those who stand behind them.

One of the main reasons for this war is Netanyahu, who leads a right-wing, racist, fascist group and thinks only of how to save himself and his family from imprisonment and accountability, even if it means destroying the entire region.

We warned all the parties we met with before this war that the continued actions of Netanyahu and his fascist government, including their aggressive policies towards the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islamic and Christian sanctities, settlement construction, and allowing settlers to wreak havoc, would not go unanswered.

We warned them that there would inevitably be an explosion due to these actions, and that efforts should be made to restrain this criminal and his gang. Unfortunately, our calls were ignored, and his allies continued to support and encourage his racist policies.

We warn them again that Netanyahu is willing to destroy everything in the region to save himself and the extremists around him, especially since we have informed the mediators of the need to immediately stop these massacres and genocides.

Demands of Hamas

Hamas has proposed a comprehensive vision starting with a ceasefire, opening the crossings, a prisoner exchange deal, and culminating in the establishment of a political path to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital and the right to self-determination. However, Netanyahu is stalling and misleading his public with false promises that we will not allow him to achieve. 

Their successive governments have failed to achieve any of these goals. They are well aware of the findings of their own investigative committees and the miserable failures they reaped after every battle. 

But until this arrogant gang realizes that they have sunk in the sands of Gaza, this will cost them greatly on all fronts, at all levels, including people who are subjected to the same killing and destruction to which our people are exposed to, the last of whom were killed in the Jabalia massacre.

We remind the countries that support this Zionist entity and provide a cover for it to commit this massacre against our people in Gaza, first and foremost the United States, of the need to reverse their outdated colonial policies and demand that they stop providing military support to this fascist government.

We also call on countries supporting the entity to stop obstructing international will, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of crossings, as recently demonstrated in the General Assembly meeting titled “United for Peace.”

We tell them that you are choosing the wrong side of history, present and future. The region will never experience peace and stability until our people achieve their legitimate rights to freedom, independence and return. Enough arrogance, hypocrisy. History has no mercy on anyone.

We salute all the Arab and Islamic nations and the free people of the world for their historic stance in supporting the Palestinian people and the resilient Gaza.

We also salute all supporting resistance fronts, especially in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, for their advanced and declared stance. We reiterate our call for our Arab and Islamic peoples and the free people of the world to continue their roaring movement in the streets around the world, which has bewildered all observers and showcased the position of Palestine and its just cause in the hearts of millions.

It is essential to continue putting pressure on decision-makers, especially in the West, to retract their supportive stances for this Zionist terrorist aggression.

Today, as the Rafah crossing is partially reopened, we emphasize the necessity of the crossing’s continuous operation without interruption in both directions, as it is a purely Egyptian-Palestinian passage.

We assure our people and the proud Gaza that your resistance is steadfast and firm, and it extracts high prices from this enemy for its crimes against you.

We also assure you that the peoples of the nation are boiling and are eager to participate in this glorious battle, which will surely be a dignified victory crowned with the liberation of our land, our sanctities and our triumphant return. “And those who have been wronged will know to which [kind of] return they will be returned.”

Mercy and eternity to the martyrs, speedy recovery to the wounded and giants and heroes. All respect and appreciation to you as you fight on all fronts, and I send a salute of pride to our respected people. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.