Hamas’ Bravery and Resolve: Unprecedented Resistance Against Superpowers

On Wednesday, 15th January 2025, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani finally confirmed, during a press conference in Qatar, the truce agreement that had been brokered over several months through covert negotiations between Israeli and Hamas officials, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and American intermediaries. The agreement includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the release of hostages by Hamas, and the release of Palestinian prisoners by Israel. The truce is set to commence on Sunday, 19th January, though specific timings are yet to be finalised.

The war in Gaza began on 7th October 2023, with an attack on southern Israel that resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities and the capture of 251 civilians as hostages. In retaliation, Israel launched an offensive on Gaza with the aim of dismantling Hamas. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the war has claimed 46,640 lives in Gaza, although the actual death toll is believed to be significantly higher. The Hamas attack and the subsequent Israeli response have permanently altered the region’s dynamics. The question arises: how did Hamas orchestrate such a coordinated assault from Gaza?

When the attack began, many Israelis were likely asleep. Saturday, being the Jewish Sabbath, meant that many families were at home, meeting friends, or planning time in synagogues. However, in the early hours of the morning, a sudden barrage of rockets signalled the onset of an unprecedentedly large and well-coordinated assault. For years, Israel had isolated the Gaza Strip with barriers. Yet, within mere hours on that Saturday, Hamas breached these barriers.

The rocket assault began at approximately 6:30 a.m. The organisation controlling the Gaza Strip, Hamas, has long employed rocket attacks as a tactic, and this time was no exception. The group used these rockets in its offensive. Although Israel’s advanced Iron Dome defence system is typically effective against such attacks, the sheer volume of rockets fired within a short period overwhelmed the system on that Saturday morning.

The scale of the rocket fire demonstrates that planning for this assault had been underway for months. Hamas claims to have launched 5,000 rockets in the initial phase, while Israeli officials estimate the number to be half of that. Alarms blared as far as Tel Aviv, 60 kilometres from the Gaza Strip, and soon smoke rose from sites in western Jerusalem and other cities where missiles struck. Amid the rocket fire, armed Hamas fighters gathered at locations from where they would breach the barriers isolating Gaza.

Notably, Israel evacuated its forces and settlers from Gaza in 2005, yet it still controls Gaza’s airspace, borders, and coastline. Around the Gaza Strip are concrete walls, barbed wire fences, military checkpoints, camera networks, and sensors designed to prevent such attacks. Nevertheless, within a few hours, Hamas breached these barriers at several locations. Some fighters bypassed these barriers entirely, using methods such as airborne gliders—at least seven of which were reportedly seen in Israel, according to unverified footage. Other fighters entered Israel by sea.

The Israeli military stated it intercepted two Hamas boats attempting to infiltrate Israel, but the hallmark of this assault was the multiple, coordinated attacks on crossing points. At 5:50 a.m., Hamas’s armed wing published initial images on its Telegram account showing fighters at Kerem Shalom, the southernmost entry point from Gaza into Israel. These images depicted armed fighters attacking a military post beyond the fence, with two bloodied Israeli soldiers lying on the ground. Another image showed five armed fighters on motorcycles crossing a barbed wire fence that had been cut. In another location, a bulldozer was used to dismantle the barrier, with dozens of armed men present, some of whom began crossing the breached fence.

Approximately 43 kilometres from Kerem Shalom, in the northern part of Gaza, Hamas launched another attempt to breach the barrier at the Erez crossing. Footage from this location shows an explosion at a concrete barrier, marking the beginning of the assault. Subsequently, an armed fighter waved his hand to signal his comrades to advance. Wearing bulletproof vests and armed with rifles, eight fighters charged towards an Israeli military post, opening fire. The video later shows the bodies of Israeli soldiers on the ground as the fighters, clearly trained and organised, methodically searched each room in the compound.

The Gaza Strip has seven official crossing points, six controlled by Israel and one by Egypt. However, within hours, Hamas found a way to infiltrate Israeli territory across the entire border.

Hamas Fighters Expand Beyond Gaza

Hamas fighters moved out of Gaza, spreading in all directions. Information obtained from Israeli officials indicates they attacked 27 locations, seemingly instructed to shoot on sight. The farthest point reached by Hamas fighters was the town of Ofakim, 22 kilometres east of Gaza. In Sderot, militants were seen passing through the town in a pickup truck, just three kilometres east of Gaza. Nearly a dozen armed fighters were spotted on the deserted streets of Ashkelon, north of Erez. Similar scenes were observed in various parts of southern Israel, prompting officials to urge civilians to remain indoors.

According to Israel, a music festival was taking place in a desert near Re’im, attended by a large number of young people. Armed militants abducted around 100 soldiers and civilians from the festival and other locations, taking them to Gaza. Along with civilian areas, Hamas also targeted two military installations. Footage from Re’im showed several burned vehicles on a road near the base.

Within hours of the rocket attack, hundreds of Israelis had been killed in a manner that no one had anticipated. While Israeli reinforcements began arriving in the southern regions, Hamas retained control of significant areas outside Gaza for a period. The speed and devastation of this unprecedented attack shocked Israel, leaving many questions unanswered—questions likely to persist for years.

Confirmation of the Ceasefire Agreement

US President Joe Biden, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, confirmed the ceasefire agreement in a press conference. He stated that the agreement would halt the fighting in Gaza, facilitate humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, and reunite hostages with their families after 15 months of captivity. Biden acknowledged the immense difficulty of reaching this agreement, describing it as one of the most challenging negotiations of his career.

He noted that Iran is significantly weaker than in previous decades, Hezbollah is “severely weakened,” and Hamas, after losing several senior leaders and fighters, agreed to the terms of the ceasefire. However, critical issues remain, preventing this agreement from becoming a permanent ceasefire.

Ceasefire Agreement Details

While the official announcement of the agreement’s details is pending, sources involved in the negotiations have provided insights. The draft agreement is structured in three phases, which Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani hopes will serve as a precursor to a permanent ceasefire.

A Palestinian official disclosed that the proposed peace plan’s first phase includes a ceasefire lasting 42 to 60 days. During this phase, Hamas will release 33 hostages to Israel, including children, women (including female soldiers), men over 50, and the injured and sick. Following this, further hostage releases will be suspended for weeks. On the first day of the ceasefire, Hamas will immediately release three hostages.

Israel believes most hostages are alive, although Hamas has not officially confirmed this. Among the hostages, 94 are reportedly in Gaza, 34 of whom have been killed. Four additional Israeli hostages were taken before the war began, with two already confirmed dead.

Future Phases

The draft suggests that on the 16th day of the ceasefire, Israel and Hamas will begin negotiations for the second and third phases of the peace plan. These phases include the exchange of remaining hostages for Palestinian prisoners. Israel will allow displaced residents from northern Gaza to return south, subject to weapons inspections. Pedestrians will be permitted to travel via the coastal road, while vehicle travellers will be allowed entry through Salah al-Din Road into central Gaza.

It is noteworthy that nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced due to evacuation orders, Israeli strikes, and the war. Within days of the ceasefire’s initiation, Israeli forces will begin a phased withdrawal from Gaza, starting with the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza. However, Israel will maintain some military presence along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor. The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza will gradually reopen to allow the sick and wounded to leave for treatment, with increased humanitarian aid permitted.

In the second phase, surviving male soldiers and civilians will be returned to Israel, while the bodies of deceased hostages will also be handed over. Israel maintains that there are currently 94 hostages in Gaza, with 34 confirmed deaths. Additionally, four Israeli citizens abducted before the war remain in Gaza. Reports suggest that the Hamas fighters who carried out the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel will not be released.

Israel has stated that it will only fully withdraw its forces after all hostages are released. Subsequently, it reportedly plans to maintain an 800-metre-wide buffer zone along the eastern and northern borders of Gaza, adjacent to Israel, to retain security control over Gaza. The third phase of the ceasefire agreement pertains to the reconstruction of Gaza. It is worth noting that a significant portion of Gaza has been reduced to rubble during the conflict between Hamas and Israel, and this reconstruction phase is expected to take several years.

No agreement has yet been reached on the second and third phases of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Negotiations regarding these phases will commence on the 16th day of the initial ceasefire. However, critical questions remain unanswered, the most pressing being: Who will govern Gaza? Israel is unwilling to hand over Gaza’s administration to Hamas and has also refused to transfer administrative control to the Palestinian Authority, which manages several areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israel intends to maintain security control over Gaza even after the current conflict ends. However, Israel, in collaboration with the United States and the United Arab Emirates, is reportedly working on a plan to establish an interim administration in Gaza. This administration would manage Gaza’s affairs until reforms within the Palestinian Authority are implemented. Hamas, meanwhile, may harbour concerns that Israel could refuse to agree to a permanent settlement after the first phase of the ceasefire is completed. Even if the Israeli Prime Minister consents to a peace process with Hamas, it is uncertain whether his cabinet would support such an initiative.

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir oppose any such agreement. Smotrich wrote on social media that any agreement of this nature would be “catastrophic” for Israel’s national security, and he would not support it. Hamas is reportedly concerned that after the hostages are returned during the first phase of the peace plan, the Israeli government might resume its attacks on Gaza.

There are other factors that could undermine the agreement. Israel wants the return of all hostages, but it remains unclear which hostages are alive or deceased, and it is possible that Hamas may not have information about some of them. Israel also refuses to release certain prisoners whom Hamas seeks to free. Reportedly, these include individuals involved in the 7 October attacks. Additionally, it is uncertain when Israel will withdraw its forces from the proposed buffer zone along Gaza’s borders or whether these forces will remain there permanently.

The unprecedented speed and devastation of this attack left Israel, and its allies astonished. It raises a critical question that will likely be debated for years: How was this possible? One lingering mystery is how Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad—renowned for its claims of uncovering even the most concealed threats—failed to anticipate Hamas’s extensive planning. Could it be that this was allowed as part of a strategy for establishing “Greater Israel,” aiming to dismantle both Hamas and its supporting forces?

It is noteworthy that Hezbollah, founded in 1982, decisively forced Israel into retreat during its aggression in 2000, leaving Israel’s allies stunned. From that day forward, a deliberate strategy was devised to ensure Israel’s dominance in the region. While countries such as Libya were ravaged under the guise of the “Arab Spring,” Arab monarchies were sent a clear message about their vulnerabilities. Gradually, efforts began to isolate Hamas, leveraging the weaknesses of regional rulers. Despite this, Hamas’s remarkable resilience and sacrifice over 15 months have created a legacy of unparalleled courage that history will never forget.

As poet Allama Iqbal beautifully expressed in Saqi Nama:

رُکے جب تو سِل چِیر دیتی ہے یہ
پہاڑوں کے دل چِیر دیتی ہے یہ

اُٹھا ساقیا پردہ اس راز سے

لڑادے  ممولے کو شہباز سے

“When it halts, it pierces through rocks,
It pierces the hearts of mountains.
Unveil this secret, O Bartender!
And let the butterfly challenge the falcon.