Hamas likely counted on Israel's rage, to have Israel exposed and wake up the world, but probably underestimated how far the West would let things go.


Looking at the biography of Yahya Sunwar, current leader of Hamas
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yahya-Sunwar

- Born 1962 in the Khan Younis refugee camp to parents who had been displaced from Ashkelon in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
- Enrolled at the Islamic University of Gaza early 80's
- 1982 Sinwar was detained for his participation in organizations that combined Islamic thought with Palestinian nationalism
- 1985, prior to the formation of Hamas, Sinwar helped organize al-Majd, a network of Islamist youths who tasked themselves with exposing the growing number of Palestinian informants who had been recruited by Israel in recent years.
- 1987 Hamas was form, al-Majd was folded into its security cadre.
- 1988 the network was found to possess weapons, and Sinwar was detained by Israel for several weeks.
- 1989 convicted for the murder of Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel and was sentenced to four life sentences in prison.
- In prison he made a point to punish fellow prisoners he suspected of being informants and once compelled some 1,600 prisoners to undertake a hunger strike. He also spent much of his spare time studying what he could about his Israeli enemies, reading Israeli newspapers and becoming fluent in Hebrew in the process.
- 2011 Released as part of a prisoner swap deal for Ghilad Shalit (IDF soldier abducted in 2006)
- 2012 Elected member of Hamas’s political bureau in the Gaza Strip.
- 2015 Put on the terrorist watchlist by the US for making calls on militants to capture Israelis.
- 2017 Elected head of Hamas in Gaza
- Months after Sinwar took the reins, Hamas forged a reconciliation deal with the PA, and, for the first time since 2007, it relinquished control of much of the Gaza Strip to the PA for a brief period.
- 2018 Negotiations with Israel for a long-term truce were underway and continued until the announcement in January 2020 of U.S. Pres. Donald Trump’s peace plan, which was embraced by Israel as a path forward but dismissed by the Palestinians as a nonstarter.
- 2021 Return to his more regular hostility after weeks of escalating tensions in Jerusalem boiled over, and clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police, particularly at the compound surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque, left hundreds injured. Hamas responded by sending rockets into Jerusalem and southern and central Israel, prompting 11 days of intense fighting between Hamas and Israel. 
- 2022 Rally celebrating the anniversary of Hamas’s founding, he called upon each person to “be ready to rise up as a gale to defend Al-Aqsa” if Israel would not conclude a deal to release Palestinian prisoners.
- 2023 Hamas led the Oct 7 assault that it dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”

Doesn't look like he'll give up, age 61, spend 22 years in an Israeli prison, tried to negotiate but got 'Trumped', then lost hope for further negotiations as the violence towards Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank only increased while the world slowly forgot about Gaza.


What does Hamas actually want to achieve

https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/10/10/23911661/hamas-israel-war-gaza-palestine-explainer

What Hamas wants

At its core, Hamas wants an independent Palestinian state, one that, according to its 2017 manifesto, would at the very least include the land Palestinians held in 1967, a position Israeli governments have long said is out of the question. It also wants greater political power, both in Palestine and internationally.

“Its ultimate goal is the liberation of all of historic Palestine, but Hamas has declared its willingness to reach a long-term cease-fire with Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza and the creation of a Palestinian state,” Syracuse University Middle Eastern history professor Osamah Khalil told Vox.


Of course it depends on who you ask, for example
The group wants to destroy Israel (BBC)
Hamas wants all the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan, which includes the modern state of Israel (Reuters)

But look at their own ideology, the fight is against Zionism

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas

1. The Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” is a Palestinian Islamic national liberation and resistance movement. Its goal is to liberate Palestine and confront the Zionist project. Its frame of reference is Islam, which determines its principles, objectives and means.

2. Palestine, which extends from the River Jordan in the east to the Mediterranean in the west and from Ras Al-Naqurah in the north to Umm Al-Rashrash in the south, is an integral territorial unit. It is the land and the home of the Palestinian people. The expulsion and banishment of the Palestinian people from their land and the establishment of the Zionist entity therein do not annul the right of the Palestinian people to their entire land and do not entrench any rights therein for the usurping Zionist entity.



8. By virtue of its justly balanced middle way and moderate spirit, Islam – for Hamas - provides a comprehensive way of life and an order that is fit for purpose at all times and in all places. Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. It provides an umbrella for the followers of other creeds and religions who can practice their beliefs in security and safety. Hamas also believes that Palestine has always been and will always be a model of coexistence, tolerance and civilizational innovation.

9. Hamas believes that the message of Islam upholds the values of truth, justice, freedom and dignity and prohibits all forms of injustice and incriminates oppressors irrespective of their religion, race, gender or nationality. Islam is against all forms of religious, ethnic or sectarian extremism and bigotry. It is the religion that inculcates in its followers the value of standing up to aggression and of supporting the oppressed; it motivates them to give generously and make sacrifices in defence of their dignity, their land, their peoples and their holy places.



14. The Zionist project is a racist, aggressive, colonial and expansionist project based on seizing the properties of others; it is hostile to the Palestinian people and to their aspiration for freedom, liberation, return and self-determination. The Israeli entity is the plaything of the Zionist project and its base of aggression.

15. The Zionist project does not target the Palestinian people alone; it is the enemy of the Arab and Islamic Ummah posing a grave threat to its security and interests. It is also hostile to the Ummah’s aspirations for unity, renaissance and liberation and has been the major source of its troubles. The Zionist project also poses a danger to international security and peace and to mankind and its interests and stability.

16. Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine. Yet, it is the Zionists who constantly identify Judaism and the Jews with their own colonial project and illegal entity.

17. Hamas rejects the persecution of any human being or the undermining of his or her rights on nationalist, religious or sectarian grounds. Hamas is of the view that the Jewish problem, anti-Semitism and the persecution of the Jews are phenomena fundamentally linked to European history and not to the history of the Arabs and the Muslims or to their heritage. The Zionist movement, which was able with the help of Western powers to occupy Palestine, is the most dangerous form of settlement occupation which has already disappeared from much of the world and must disappear from Palestine.

18. The following are considered null and void: the Balfour Declaration, the British Mandate Document, the UN Palestine Partition Resolution, and whatever resolutions and measures that derive from them or are similar to them. The establishment of “Israel” is entirely illegal and contravenes the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and goes against their will and the will of the Ummah; it is also in violation of human rights that are guaranteed by international conventions, foremost among them is the right to self-determination.

19. There shall be no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity. Whatever has befallen the land of Palestine in terms of occupation, settlement building, Judaization or changes to its features or falsification of facts is illegitimate. Rights never lapse.

20. Hamas believes that no part of the land of Palestine shall be compromised or conceded, irrespective of the causes, the circumstances and the pressures and no matter how long the occupation lasts. Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea. However, without compromising its rejection of the Zionist entity and without relinquishing any Palestinian rights, Hamas considers the establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of the 4th of June 1967, with the return of the refugees and the displaced to their homes from which they were expelled, to be a formula of national consensus.


They're willing to negotiate as they have been willing to do so in the past. However it has always come down to more concessions from the Palestinians, always in favor of Israel and the occupation has never let up, nor the apartheid system. In that environment there will never be a solution.

Mexico, Chile ask ICC to investigate possible crimes in Gaza war

Biden’s admission about Yemen strikes sparks discussion on US foreign policy failure

As Biden and Netanyahu keep 'fighting' over "the day after" the war on Gaza and the West Bank only continues to get worse

Highest levels of violence in occupied West Bank: UN official

Protesters in Yemen denounce continuing killings in Gaza

"There is no trust" in the Israeli government, war cabinet minister says as he calls for elections

Israel needs fresh elections because the public no longer has trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, Israeli war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot said. “We need to go to the polls and have an election in the next few months, in order to renew the trust as currently there is no trust,” Eisenkot told Israeli television news on Thursday evening. “The state of Israel is a democracy and needs to ask itself, after such a serious event, how do we go forward with a leadership that is responsible for such an absolute failure?”

He also dismissed concerns over holding elections in the country while it’s at war. “Lack of trust among the public in its government is no less severe than lack of unity during a war,” he explained. “The situation in Gaza is such that the goals of the war have not been achieved, but the war is no longer happening. There is a relatively limited Order of battle, there's a different order of operation,” he added.

Those who claim Hamas was fully defeated in northern Gaza "are not telling the truth," Israeli minister says

Israeli war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot appeared to criticize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, saying those who claim Hamas was fully defeated in northern Gaza “are not telling the truth.”

“Those who say that there was a major blow and demolition of the capabilities in the north of the strip are telling the truth. Those who say that there was an absolute defeat [of Hamas] and lack of will and ability, are not telling the truth,” Eisenkot told Israeli television news on Thursday evening, just hours after Netanyahu said Israel’s military campaign would continue until it achieved “complete victory” over Hamas.

Netanyahu’s strategy will leave Israel in "Gaza quagmire," ex-prime minister warns

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has called for fresh elections to restore confidence in the country’s leadership and warned that Benjamin Netanyahu’s current strategy risks alienating the United States and leaving Israel “mired in the Gaza quagmire.” Calling Netanyahu’s refusal to publicly discuss plans for “the day after” period following the end of combat in Gaza “unconscionable,” Barak said a lack of planning was damaging the war effort and the country’s future diplomatic relations.

“The IDF cannot optimize the probability of winning when there is no defined political goal. In the absence of a realistic goal, we will end up mired in the Gaza quagmire, fighting simultaneously in Lebanon and in the West Bank, eroding the American backing and endangering the Abraham Accords and the peace agreements with Egypt and with Jordan,” Barak wrote in an op-ed published in Haaretz Thursday.

Barak added that a proposal from the Biden administration in November that would see a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority take control of Gaza after the war offered the “only practical blueprint” to move forward and would require Israel to take part in future talks “toward a two-state solution.”

Netanyahu on Thursday appeared to reject the idea of creating a Palestinian state, a statement that could contribute to growing tensions between Washington and Jerusalem. The apparent rejection of a Palestinian state is at odds with the stated position of one of Netanyahu’s staunchest allies, US President Joe Biden, who has long advocated for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Majority of Israelis support war on Gaza

_{Police detain a protester during a rally by Israeli anti-war and anti-government demonstrators in Tel Aviv on January 16}

New Polling Shows How Much Global Support Israel Has Lost

https://time.com/6559293/morning-consult-israel-global-opinion/

Net favorability—the percentage of people viewing Israel positively after subtracting the percentage viewing it negatively—dropped globally by an average of 18.5 percentage points between September and December, decreasing in 42 out of the 43 countries polled.

...

The U.S. remains the only rich country that still had net positive views of Israel. Net favorability dropped just 2.2 percentage points, from a net favorability of 18.2 to a net favorability of 16 from September to December.

Washington's support for Israel carries a cost in global public opinion, however, particularly in Arab countries, the surveys show. In Egypt, the U.S. went from having a positive favorability of 41.1 to a negative favorability of -14.9 from September to December. In Saudi Arabia, the U.S. saw a similar trend, dropping from a positive favorability of 12.2 to -10.5 over the same time period.

Are the US trying to fool the world or just themselves

Biden says two-state solution not impossible with Netanyahu in office

US President Biden has said that a two-state solution could still move forward with Netanyahu in office, one day after the Israeli leader flatly stated that he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state.

Asked if a two-state solution was impossible with Netanyahu in office, Biden said “no, it’s not.” Biden said that there were “many” forms a two-state solution could take, and that Netanyahu was not necessarily opposed to all of them. He also mentioned that some UN member states don’t have militaries.

Last month, Netanyahu also stated that he was “proud” that he had prevented the creation of a Palestinian state.

US official: No evidence Israel ‘deliberately’ commits war crimes

When asked by a reporter about Mexico and Chile requesting an investigation from the International Criminal Court on the commission of crimes against humanity by Israel in its war on Gaza, John Kirby has said he did not have a comment. “We’re still gathering more information about what this would entail. But I want to say again, that we don’t have any indications that there’s deliberate efforts to commit war crimes by the [Israeli military],” he said.

Al Jazeera has spoken to Palestinians who say they witnessed the execution of more than a dozen men in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli military. William Schabas, an international law professor from the UK, told us that if proven credible, this footage could be considered as evidence of war crimes at the ICC. “Summary executions even of fighters, even of combatants is a war crime,” he said.

Accidentally dropping 2,000 pound bombs on civilian targets, displacing and starving an entire population, executing people point blank.


Will the US care about this

Palestinian American fatally shot in occupied West Bank, Palestinian news agency says

A 17-year-old Palestinian American was fatally shot Friday in the town of Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA, citing local sources. Tawfiq Hafiz Ajjaq was shot in the head and was taken to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, where he was in critical condition but later died, WAFA said, citing medical sources at the hospital.   

The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli police told CNN it received a report that an off-duty police officer and an Israeli civilian fired toward a “Palestinian individual suspected of hurling rocks in the area of Al-Mazra'a ash-Sharqiya.” 

An IDF soldier was also present in the area, the IDF said in a statement to CNN. “The claim that the soldier fired at the Palestinian is under review,” the statement said. Israel’s police have opened an investigation into the incident, the IDF and Israeli police told CNN.  

Tawfiq had been living abroad for almost a year and a half before returning to the West Bank, according to WAFA. Al-Mazra'a Al-Sharqiya is a town where many Palestinian-Americans live. The US is "seriously concerned" about reports of the shooting, though information is "scant at this time," John Kirby, US National Security Council spokesperson, said in a Friday briefing.

CNN has reached out to the US Embassy in Jerusalem and the US Office of Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem for comment.

State Department confirms US citizen death in West Bank and asks Israel for more details

The State Department officially confirmed the death of a US citizen in the West Bank on Friday and has asked the Israeli government for more information, a spokesperson told CNN. "We extend our deepest condolences to the family," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson did not provide the individual's name due to privacy considerations. "Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment," the spokesperson said.

‘Two mothers killed every hour’ in Gaza: UN Women’s agency

Women and children are the main victims of Israel’s war on Gaza with some 16,000 killed so far and an estimated two mothers killed every hour in the Palestinian territory, a UN agency said.

Added to the fact that 70 percent of all those killed in Gaza are women and girls, 10,000 children have lost their fathers since Israel’s war on the territory began on October 7, and one million women and girls are among those displaced.

Women and girls have been deprived of safety, healthcare, shelter, and now “they face imminent starvation and famine”, UN Women, the agency which promoted gender equality, said on Friday.

“The generational trauma inflicted on Palestinian people over these 100 days and counting, will haunt us all for generations to come,” UN Women executive director Sima Bahous said in a statement. “However much we mourn the situation of the women and girls of Gaza today, we will mourn further tomorrow without unrestricted humanitarian assistance and an end to the destruction and killing,” Bahous said.

Latest figures

US doesn't care about 2 state solution it's basically a act to try to fool idiots but I don't think anyone actually believes them that actually concerned about Palestinians.

IDF certainly changed its tone lately, denying instead of blaming terrorists hiding inside

Jordan claims its field hospital in Gaza was deliberately targeted by Israeli forces

The Jordanian military has accused Israeli forces of deliberately targeting its field hospital in Gaza on Wednesday, saying Israeli tanks fired on the hospital where personnel were sheltering. The Israel Defense Forces have denied the claim, saying they did not strike the Jordanian field hospital and that the hospital remains "unharmed, fully functioning and continues to provide medical care to those in need."

The Jordanian Armed Forces said in a statement Friday: "This action was not a result of a clash with resistance factions, asserting that the deliberate targeting of the Jordanian Field Hospital is consistent with Israel's approach to targeting hospitals in Gaza."

The armed forces said the attack involved heavy firepower, including direct fire from tanks and vehicles, and that one tank blocked the entrance to the hospital. It said one Jordanian officer and one person from Gaza who was receiving treatment were injured in the attack, which also caused "substantial material damage" to the facility. The injured Jordanian officer will be evacuated to Jordan, the statement said.

The Jordanian Army provided video they say shows damage to the hospital following attacks in the area Wednesday. The video shows what appear to be shell or bullet holes in the walls of the hospital, as well as damage to the roof. The IDF acknowledged a member of the medical staff was injured, but said the source of the gunfire "has not been determined."


Tensions along Lebanon border continue

Two killed in Israeli strike on vehicle in Lebanon - report

Two people were killed after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday hit a vehicle in Lebanon in the town of al-Bazouriya near the border, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. A separate drone strike hit a house in Marwahin, Lebanon, that had previously been targeted by Israel, according to NNA. The agency also said two Israeli airstrikes hit different locations in and around al-Adisa while Israeli artillery hit towns on the eastern and western sectors of the border.

Hezbollah said it launched three attacks on Israeli military sites on Saturday, targeting soldiers' gatherings near the Zareit barracks, al-Dhuhaira and Honein.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not commented on the two reported deaths in Lebanon, but released a statement regarding strikes in other areas. The IDF said Israeli Air Force fighter jets "struck terrorist infrastructure, an observation post, and a launch post belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the area of Al-Adisa in southern Lebanon."

The IDF statement added that overnight, Israeli tanks fired to "remove a threat" in the Har Dov area, also known as the Shebaa Farms -- a common flashpoint along the border. The IDF also said it identified two launches from Lebanese territory on Saturday and responded with fire.

As well as with Syria

Israeli missile strike kills four Iranian military advisers in Damascus, Syrian state TV says

Four Iranian military advisers and several members of Syrian forces have been killed in an Israeli missile strike on a building in Damascus, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

Syrian state TV, which also accused Israel of the attack, said earlier that several people were killed and injured in Saturday's missile strike in the Mazzeh neighborhood, home to several diplomatic missions including the Iranian embassy. The IRGC named them as Hojatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi and Saeed Karimi. 

"The Supreme Leader and Commander in Chief offered condolences and congratulations to the families of the great martyrs and to the fighters and commanders of the Islamic resistance front," Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing the IRGC. 

Syrian civil defense teams were searching for people they believe are trapped under the rubble, state TV reported, and that a number of surrounding buildings and nearby vehicles were also damaged in the strike.

The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the strike, telling CNN on Saturday: "We do not comment on foreign reports."

Along with northern Iraq, Syria was the target of ballistic missile strikes launched by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Monday at what the organization said was “anti-Iran terror groups.” On Friday, the US conducted its sixth reported strike on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

At least 16 cemeteries in Gaza have been desecrated by Israeli forces, satellite imagery and videos reveal

The Israeli military has desecrated at least 16 cemeteries in its ground offensive in Gaza, a CNN investigation has found, leaving gravestones ruined, soil upturned, and, in some cases, bodies unearthed. In Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, where fighting escalated earlier this week, Israeli forces destroyed a cemetery, removing bodies in what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN was part of a search for the remains of hostages seized by Hamas during the October 7 terror attacks.

CNN has reviewed satellite imagery and social media footage showing the destruction of cemeteries and witnessed it firsthand while traveling with the IDF in a convoy. Together the evidence reveals a systemic practice where Israeli ground forces have advanced across the Gaza Strip. The intentional destruction of religious sites, such as cemeteries, violates international law, except under narrow circumstances relating to that site becoming a military objective, and legal experts told CNN that Israel’s acts could amount to war crimes.

A spokesman for the IDF could not account for the destruction of the 16 cemeteries CNN provided coordinates for, but said the military sometimes has “no other choice” but to target cemeteries it claimed Hamas uses for military purposes. The IDF said rescuing the hostages and finding and returning their bodies is one of its key missions in Gaza, which is why bodies were removed from some gravesites.

All universities in Gaza damaged or destroyed, Palestinian news agency says 


_{Islamic University in Gaza City on November 26, 2023}

Buildings belonging to Al-Israa University, south of Gaza City, were damaged on Wednesday when it was allegedly struck by Israeli warplanes, according to WAFA, the Palestinian news agency. The university condemned the incident, calling it a “barbaric aggression."

All universities in Gaza have now been destroyed or at least damaged, WAFA said. CNN has asked the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for a response to these claims and has geolocated images of damage to the university that matches its location. The IDF has not yet responded.

Buildings housing the graduate and undergraduate studies were struck, the university claimed, as well as the National Museum, which the university said it had licensed with the Ministry of Antiquities containing over 3,000 rare artifacts. The university claims the IDF looted artifacts “before blowing up the museum building to cover up the traces of their crime.” CNN has asked the IDF about this claim and is waiting for a response. CNN cannot independently verify this claim by the university.

While the US said on Thursday it does not have independent information to verify Wednesday's alleged incident, it urged Israel to “avoid damage to critical infrastructure – that would, of course, include universities – and to ensure the protection of humanitarian and medical sites," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

CNN likes to flaunt their incompetence in every article lol, but has to pass the IDF censor. CNN keeps on waiting on responses that never come... No accountability anyway, but does all add to the genocide case at the ICJ. Erasing Gaza.

Arab and Jewish activists protesting in northern Israel’s Haifa

Peace activists take part in a protest demanding an end to the war and the exchange of prisoners and hostages between Hamas and Israel.

Omri Evron, a member of the Communist Party of Israel, who helped organise the anti-war protest in Haifa spoke to Al Jazeera about the message protesters are trying to convey. Here were his main points:

• The killing of thousands and thousands of Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are innocent civilians, is not only reprehensible it does not serve the security of the people of Israel.
• It does not bring us security, it only ensures the next massacre, the next cycle of violence.
• Currently, they (the protestors) are chanting “refuse to kill, refuse to fight, refuse to murder” – this is our call.

On the difficulties protest organisers face, he said:

• It has been difficult, not because there aren’t Jews and Arabs who want to come together who believe in a joint future of peace and equality and national liberation of both people in two states.
• It has been difficult because the government and the police in particular have done everything in their power to prevent us from coming together, to prevent us from voicing a lawful and peaceful voice.
• We had to appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice just to allow us to come together and demonstrate.

This is the first time we are seeing this protest happen in the north. It’s a protest with Israeli Jews and Palestinian Israelis, and it is significant because of the two coming together. It’s been very difficult for this protest to take place. The organisers went to the Supreme Court to petition against the refusal from the police. The court gave them the go-ahead with a lot of restrictions. The protesters weren’t allowed to march, and it wasn’t allowed to be held at night.

It’s now being held during the day but only for two hours.

Families of captives continue to protest outside Netanyahu’s home

Supporters and family members of captives held in Gaza camp outside the residence of the Israeli PM in Caesarea, Israel

Eli Shtivi, father of captive Idan Shtivi, who is on a hunger strike, stands next to a poster of his son

The father of one of the captives is on a hunger strike, and they released a very strong statement that says they demand that Israel stop the execution of hostages. There have been weeks of protests, particularly in Tel Aviv from tens of thousands of people. Many have switched from just calling for the release of captives to demanding a ceasefire in order to release them.