Why it matters:
The Hamas statement shows its willingness to fight the Zionist occupiers, and indicates the resistance movement's genuine belief that despite all the hardships endured by the Palestinian people during the past two years, they were the ones who emerged victorious from this devastating war.
Driving the news: The first anniversary of Yahya Sinwar's martyrdom has coincided with the end of Israel's genocidal war in Gaza, and the occupying regime's failure to achieve their objectives in this war. The martyrdom of resistance's heroic leader is sure to inspire young Palestinians and future generations until the liberation of Palestine.
What Hamas is saying: This was issued in a statement on Thursday on the occasion of the first anniversary of the martyrdom of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, in the battles of the war of genocide of the Israeli occupiers in the Gaza Strip. In its statement, the movement said that "the flame of the Al-Aqsa Flood will be ignited and alive in the spirit of adherence to rights, stability and national unity, and its flames will not fade in the hearts of our great people, no matter how much sacrifice is made and how strong and criminal the occupation is."
The statement said that Martyr Sinwar "ended his life of struggle full of jihad and sacrifice, an unplanned, steadfast and standing future in the heart of the battle, and challenged the oppression and crime of the occupiers until the moment of martyrdom."
The movement emphasized that the first anniversary of Sinwar's martyrdom coincided with what it described as 'a great national achievement attained through the perseverance and resistance of the Palestinians,' noting that the occupiers failed to achieve their objectives during the invasion of Gaza, while the resistance came close to achieving a prisoner exchange deal under the title 'Flood of Freed,' which led to the release of Palestinian prisoners in 1968 and undermined the occupiers' credibility. Hamas also praised the Sinwar march, highlighting how from his youth in resistance against the occupation, through 23 years of imprisonment, to leading the resistance in Gaza until his martyrdom on October 17, 2023, during an armed conflict with occupying forces in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in southern Gaza Strip, he dedicated his life to the Palestinian cause. It stressed that the martyrdom of leaders does not weaken the resistance but rather strengthens their determination and commitment to national principles, emphasizing that 'the flag will not fall,' and the people will continue to carry it until comprehensive freedom is achieved and an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital is established. At the end of this statement, the movement refuted Israel's narrative that Sinwar was isolated inside tunnels, and reminded everyone that Sinwar carried out his duties as a leader on the ground, at the battlefront, and was eventually martyred in a direct face-to-face encounter with the occupying enemy forces.
What to watch: Defiant and inspiring statements by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas show the movement is very much alive and eager to continue its struggle against the Zionist occupiers until the liberation of all Palestinian lands.
M.Derakhshandeh - ahmad shirzadian
