Hamas said on Wednesday, marking the third anniversary of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, that 7 October 2023 was not the beginning of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation, stressing that “its final chapters have yet to be written”.
In a lengthy statement, the movement described Operation Al-Aqsa Flood as a “historic milestone” in the course of the Palestinian struggle, saying it came after decades of occupation, blockade, killing and the deprivation of Palestinian rights, alongside what it described as Israeli plans targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque and Palestinian prisoners.
Hamas said that “the spirit of the Flood remains alive”, arguing that portraying the confrontation as having begun on 7 October amounts to a distortion of both reality and its underlying causes.
“The conflict with the enemy did not begin on that day, nor have its final chapters yet been written,” the movement said.
Three Years of War on Gaza
Hamas said that three years of war had resulted, according to its figures, in the martyrdom of more than 74,000 Palestinians and the wounding of around 175,000 others in the Gaza Strip.
It added that thousands remain missing, while tens of thousands of Palestinian prisoners have passed through Israeli occupation prisons during the same period.
The movement said the war did not end with the ceasefire agreement but instead took other forms. According to its statement, nearly 1,500 Palestinians have been martyred and more than 5,000 wounded since the agreement came into effect.
Hamas also pointed to continuing Israeli raids, arrests, home demolitions and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
Hamas Reaffirms Commitment to Ceasefire Obligations
Addressing the next phase, Hamas said that it remains committed, alongside the other Palestinian resistance factions, to implementing the obligations placed upon it under the ceasefire agreement.
The movement said it was also committed to ensuring the agreement succeeds in coordination with mediators.
Hamas called on the US administration and the mediators acting as guarantors of the agreement to pressure the Israeli occupation to fulfil its own obligations.
It also called for the implementation of the roadmap it said had already been agreed upon, with the objective of ending the aggression, allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza, beginning reconstruction and securing a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Call for a Unified Palestinian Strategy
Hamas called for the establishment of a “unified national resistance strategy” bringing together the various Palestinian factions and political forces.
It said such a strategy represented the path towards confronting the plans of the Israeli occupation government.
The movement also praised the growing international boycott campaigns targeting Israeli institutions and called for them to be expanded.
Call for Israeli Officials to Face Accountability
Hamas called on the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice to pursue Israeli officials over the war on the Gaza Strip.
It specifically named Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of his government and senior military commanders, calling for measures to ensure they do not escape accountability.
The movement also urged Arab and Islamic countries, their peoples and forces supporting the Palestinian cause to intensify political pressure and popular mobilisation against the war, blockade and displacement of Palestinians.
Hamas reaffirmed what it described as the Palestinian people’s right to resist the occupation and to establish a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
At the conclusion of its statement, the movement commemorated its leaders who were martyred over the previous three years, including Ismail Haniyeh, Saleh al-Arouri, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, alongside the other martyrs of the Palestinian people.
