By Ali Karbalaei

First signs of victory for Hamas 

November 22, 2023 - 19:21
The resistance group agrees to a short pause on its own terms

TEHRAN- The Hamas political group and its armed wing have emerged stronger and unscratched as the Israeli occupation faces a global backlash.

A Qatari-Egyptian deal to temporarily halt fighting in the besieged Gaza Strip is to take effect on Thursday morning. 

Amid the deadly devastation that the Israeli military has inflicted on the besieged Gaza Strip, the regime has bowed down to pressure and accepted Hamas’s terms of a Qatari-mediated pause in fighting the Palestinian resistance. 

After six weeks of bombardment and a failed ground invasion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stated goal to destroy Hamas has proved futile. 

Instead it is Hamas?, which took Israeli captives and said all along it will not negotiate any agreement that does not foresee the release of Palestinian political prisoners, women and children held under the harshest conditions in Israeli dungeons. It has secured its first objective. 

And it is Hamas, which has kept up a brave resistance to the last moment that has forced the regime into a Vietnamese-style pressure to call it quits - for now.  

The actions of the Israeli army have disgusted so many around the world, as has been reflected by the largest global demonstrations since the invasion of Iraq, in support of the Palestinians. 

It has been Hamas that has taken the moral high ground. Even according to the Israeli hostages, they have been treated humanely by the resistance organization. 

Since October 7, and throughout the Israeli war on Gaza, experts have maintained that the Israeli regime will commit as much death and destruction against Palestinian civilians and civilian sites but end up being forced to engage in a prisoner exchange deal.

History has repeated itself, and whilst this isn't a ceasefire and only a limited exchange of prisoners by either side, the end game will be the same. 

Hamas will remain in power, earn more respect for its resistance capabilities, and force the regime into another prisoner exchange agreement. 

The ruling power in Gaza outlined the official terms of the truce that it had rubber-stamped. 

"Following several days of negotiations, we announce, with the assistance and guidance of Allah the Almighty, the reaching of a humanitarian truce agreement (temporary ceasefire) spanning four days," it said. 

"This result is a testament to the persistent and commendable efforts of Qatar and Egypt," it added.

It outlines the terms of the agreement, which are as follows:

• A ceasefire enacted by both parties across Gaza;

• The intensified entry of trucks carrying humanitarian aid, relief supplies, medical assistance, and fuel to all regions of the Gaza Strip;

• The release of 50 Israeli women and children below the age of 19, in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and children in Israeli prisons;

• No Israeli air traffic in the south of Gaza whatsoever for four days;

• No Israeli air traffic in the north of Gaza for six hours daily, from 10 am to 4 pm;

• Freedom of movement for civilians, particularly along Salah al Din road.

"The terms of this agreement were formulated with the vision of serving our people and bolstering their steadfastness in the face of aggression, always mindful of their sacrifices, suffering, and concerns," Hamas said. 

It also promised to "persist as the protective shield and defenders of our people" despite the truce.

The Palestinian resistance has stood steadfast in the face of what was believed to be the strongest army in the region, taking on the Israeli invasion in man-to-man combat. 
Its armed wing?, along with other Palestinian resistance factions, have been launching missiles at Israeli military bases and Tel Aviv until the last moment of this temporary truce.

Their fingers are on the trigger should and when the Israeli military attacks their occupied territory again.

The regime's military has been displayed around the world for all the wrong reasons, morally, legally and also in terms of its strength. 

Large parts of the territory of the besieged coastal enclave look like a devastating natural disaster had hit it. 

Except this has been no natural disaster. This was man-made. 

Or, to be more precise, this was Israeli-made. 

The regime has managed to kill more than 14,000 civilians, the majority of them women and children. 

According to the Gaza health ministry?, around 6,000 of them are children, another 4,000 are women, and the remainder the elderly and vulnerable, including babies. 

Tens of thousands of other Palestinian civilians have been injured or remain stuck under the rubble. 

Yet?, regional media shows the Palestinian population in the besieged Gaza Strip has never been more supportive of Hamas and has never been more hateful of the regime. 

On the other hand, Netanyahu has never been more hated by the Israelis themselves. 

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has said Israelis should use the Gaza ceasefire to throw out their current leader.

"The people can't stand him," he said. 

"If there will be a break for a couple of days [from fighting], there will be a change of direction and they can move out into his home or his office and there will be demonstrations the like of which we have never seen," he added. 

"The amount of rage that has been built up is just unbelievable."

Olmert said Netanyahu's administration should be toppled even in the middle of the war it is fighting in Gaza.

"He should go today, he should go this minute. He should be thrown out by any means."

A warning from one Israeli war minister to another. 

The Israeli occupation itself has proven to the world again how much of a child-killing machine it is. 

Blocking food, water and medicine whilst bombing hospitals and leaving premature babies to die is not how a modern-era army with an iota of dignity behaves. 

The Israeli killing of journalists to hide its war crimes is nothing to boast about. 

There is, in essence, nothing much to boast about for the Israeli military. 

This is how barbaric armies fought in medieval times. 

The Israeli military is the sole army in the international community and in modern history to have taken the world to that era.
 

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