Hamas calling on Iran to activate the so-called Axis of Resistance and for Palestinians to march to Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque at the start of Ramadan indicates the group is “growing desperate,” according to a former Israeli intelligence officer.
Ismail Haniyeh, the man considered to be Hamas’s political leader, called on Palestinians to take to the streets after Israel warned it may set limits to worship at the Mosque during Ramadan.
He told Iran and its allies – dubbed the Axis of Resistance – as well as other Arab states they have a “duty” to step in and put an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Members of the Axis, which includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq and Yemen’s Houthis, pledged their support to Hamas since the start of the war in October and have carried out multiple strikes on Israel and its allies.
But according to regional analyst Avi Melamed, Haniyeh’s appeal betrayed a sense of desperation as ongoing IDF strikes continue to target Hamas’s dwindling forces in Gaza.
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“That being said there are no indications that a brief pause will cancel Israel’s plans to operate in Rafah and dismantle the final four Hamas battalions there.”
Negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar are working on a framework deal under which Hamas would free some of the dozens of hostages it holds in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a six-week halt in fighting.
During the temporary pause, negotiations would continue over the release of the remaining hostages.
Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed after almost five months of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish in its count between fighters and noncombatants. Israel says it has killed 10,000 militants.
