When the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, launched his devastating assault on Israel on 7 October, the militant group’s exiled leadership, like the rest of the world, was apparently caught unawares.

From plush penthouses in Beirut, Doha and Istanbul, they watched the carnage that killed 1,200 Israelis unfold, as well as Israel’s retaliatory campaign on the Gaza Strip. In the past four months Israel has killed an estimated 27,600 people, displaced 85% of the 2.3 million population and razed more than half of the besieged Palestinian territory’s infrastructure.

In the early days of the war, while Sinwar’s cadre was calling on Arab peoples across the Middle East to join the fight against Israel, the Doha-based chair of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, appeared to focus on damage control. Talks mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the US resulted in a ceasefire and hostage and prisoner swaps at the end of November that lasted seven days before collapsing.

Now, it seems that those roles have reversed. According to reports, it is Sinwar and his men, exhausted from the fighting, who want to reach a temporary truce deal, and Haniyeh’s office that is demanding more concessions and holding out for a complete Israeli withdrawal.

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  • Vub@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I am not sure why you would even ask such a question, I wonder what kind of bubble you live in where this is even questioned? That is horrible in itself, and a horrible thing for the victims to have people question rape, sexual abuse and murder. This is the side you want to stand on?

    If you are just ignorant and have never heard of it, I suggest reading the news from the latest 4 months, there are PLENTY of eye witness accounts from survivors or the terror attacks.

    Maybe this will help you as well (NSFL with images and videos of raped and murdered women and men): https://www.thisishamas.com

    Please get a grip of yourself and stop shaming yourself and others.