Hamas Warns Duplicitous "Israel"

Hamas released four more hostages today, young women who appeared healthy and well-fed. Note that the soldier on the left is holding one of the famous Hamas gift bags. Photo source: Middle East Eye

Amidst a changeover between one set of  Zionists for another set in Washington DC, the ceasefire in Gaza is tenuous (and most of the violence for now seems to have moved to the West Bank). 

Hamas leadership issued a statement on social media yesterday that strikes me as both credible and ominous.

⚡️BREAKING: Hamas statement to the families of "israeli" prisoners in the Gaza Strip:

As preparations are underway for the release of a second batch of "israeli" prisoners from Gaza, we have followed with great astonishment the statements of several occupation leaders from the extremist "israeli" government, who have hinted at the resumption of war and destruction in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas and the resistance have demonstrated a strong commitment to preserving the lives of "israeli" prisoners in our custody and ensuring their basic needs are met, despite the genocide, starvation, and targeting endured by our people.

"Imprisoned Palestinian scholar and leader Khalida Jarrar liberated in Toufan al-Ahrar after over 5 months in solitary confinement." Source: Samidoun

This includes the bombing of some detention sites multiple times over the past 15 months and the killing and torture of Palestinian detainees in occupation prisons, acts that shame humanity itself.

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

Today, we address this message to you in a time of great complexity and pain for all. We sense a great danger in the recent statements made by "israeli" political leaders. These remarks signal an imminent threat to everyone, including your loved ones still in Gaza.

The recent statements by officials in the "israeli" government, suggesting intentions to resume war and destruction in Gaza, raise serious concerns about the safety of your children and the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians suffering under siege and war.

Here, we present to you the most prominent of these statements:

1- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on January 20, 2025, stated that he had received a personal promise from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume aggression on Gaza after the first phase of the agreement, considering the ceasefire to be merely a temporary stage, to be followed by a new war to eliminate Hamas.

2- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 18, 2025, indicated that the ceasefire agreement is temporary, asserting that "israel" would return to fighting "in a new way and with great force" if circumstances necessitate it.

3- Minister Dudi Amsalem on January 22, 2025, claimed that the second phase of the ceasefire agreement would not occur, calling for an inevitable return to war.

4- Knesset Member Tally Gotliv on January 22, 2025, demanded the seizure of land in Gaza and the establishment of military bases on it, describing the truce as "unreal." 

We warn that these statements not only threaten a return to escalation and destruction but also put the safety of your loved ones at direct risk.

We call upon you, as the families of the captives who are most impacted by what may happen, to take a responsible humanitarian stance and raise your voices to the "israeli" government and its leaders. These leaders prioritize their personal and political interests over the public interest, which should focus on ensuring the safety of your sons and everyone in Gaza, and adhering to the agreements.

We believe that your voices can bring about real change, and that your demands can make a difference in pushing back against the recklessness of this far-right government and its leaders. Your voices can pressure them to honor agreements that guarantee the safety of all and the return of your loved ones to you. War will only bring more destruction and loss, putting the lives of the remaining prisoners in real danger and an uncertain fate.

Office of Martyrs, Prisoners, and the Wounded

Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas

11th Rajab 1446 AH

January 23, 2025 CE

Ceasefire How? A Reading List

Palestinians react to news on a ceasefire deal with Israel, in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. [Ramadan Abed/Reuters] Source: Aljazeera

Since Israel is, like the U.S. as described by Russia and China "non-agreement capable," it remains to be seen how much fire actually ceases. Yesterday when the ceasefire was announced Zionists went on killing Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

https://x.com/sahouraxo/status/1879690323779346438

It's early days for an agreement that goes into effect on Sunday, and I can't blame Gaza's survivors for celebrating the end of this particular phase of their torment. Or Hamas for celebrating this as a win. While I myself remain skeptical.

Read the full text of the agreement here.

How many aid trucks will actually be allowed in?

Which Palestinians will be rearrested immediately after being released from Israel's torture prison, as per past practice?

Will the Palestinian Authority go on killing on Israel's behalf in the West Bank?

Will the bombing of Palestine's supporters in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen cease too?

Perhaps a reading list is in order today as we sift through what is known and unknown about this glimmer of hope.

Aljazeera video: "Netanyahu, a 'war criminal', cannot be trusted with a ceasefire: Marwan Bishara"

Excerpt:

We need to focus on the humanitarian issue that is facing us in Gaza.. 

We need to look at the future in a way clean from the craziness of Israeli politics..

What's important is to end the occupation -- of Gaza, of the West Bank, of East Jerusalem, even of the Syrian Golan Heights.

Caitlin Johnstone: "Thoughts on the ceasefire deal"

Excerpt:

The deal as written is apparently virtually identical to the one Hamas agreed to last May, which Netanyahu then sabotaged with the complicity of the Biden administration.

As usual, Israel appears to be ramping up its aggressions to kill as many people as possible before the fighting comes to an end. These next few days will be an especially terrifying time to be living in Gaza.

 

Simplicius: "Ceasefire deal reportedly reached in Gaza, as both Biden and Trump take credit"

Excerpt:

After much more than a year of fighting, the “pound for pound greatest military force on the planet” was unable to defeat Hamas even after being given a blank cheque for total indiscriminate slaughter and genocide of the civilian population with zero repercussions, a leeway not afforded to any other military force in recent history.

The fact is, the IDF performed dismally and the reason the deal even came about was because the last several weeks saw a significant spike in IDF soldiers’ deaths.

A man waves a Palestinian flag in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. [Ramadan Abed/Reuters]  Source: Aljazeera

Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network: "The resistance lives, the prison doors open -- on the road to liberation and return"

Excerpt:

Of course, the genocide in Palestine did not begin in October 2023, and it will not end with the implementation of this agreement. Genocide is the nature of Zionism; it is the weapon of imperialism. Since 1948 – and indeed, since the Balfour declaration and British colonialism in Palestine – Palestinians have been resisting genocide. This is, however, a new stage of struggle against the ongoing Zionist genocide, organized, directed and backed by the imperialist powers – as illustrated by their colonial bombardment of Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank as the ceasefire agreement was being announced.

Fiorella Isabel: "Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire and hostage deal after 15 months of genocide but there's a nefarious catch"

Excerpt:

This is happening now because [Israel] needed Syria out, a weakened Axis, and weakened non-aligned axis, for their required objectives. It’s also no coincidence that we’re seeing this all come with a change of face in the US, while the same long-planned foreign policy will continue. 

Few mention the fact that Israel’s been taking up more and more land in the occupied West Bank with the help of the Palestinian Authority. It’s only a matter of time before they fully control the entire thing, given the state of the region and the incoming logistics, unless there is a miraculous, united push to stop Israel and the US -- which looking at Syria, is unlikely.

I end by reflecting that Hamas' stated purpose of the Oct 7 military operation was to capture hostages that could be swapped for Palestinian prisoners. So this agreement is in the "win" column for them. Israel's stated purpose in responding after Oct 7 was to obliterate Hamas (which outgoing Secretary State Blinken said this week has more members than ever, so that's in the "loss column") and free the hostages. Many hostages did not live to see their freedom, largely because Israel's collective punishment of Gaza fell on them, too. So that's a draw.

As for the U.S. and Israel's international reputation, both are in tatters over genocide in Gaza. Major losses for them with far-reaching consequences, and that they will probably learn nothing from.