ALBAWABA - Abu Ubaida, the military spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' armed wing), gave his first public speech since March. It was a recorded speech in which he talked about the group's military strategy, its views on current talks, and harsh criticism of players in the region and within Palestine.
Abu Ubaida said that the resistance is still fully ready for a long war. He accused Israel of breaking a deal by starting its attack on Gaza again four months ago. He said that the resistance killed a lot of Israeli troops during this time and that Israeli soldiers were also suffering from more mental health problems.
He said that Hamas's current operations are focused on "strategic attrition," which includes new military strategies, high-impact operations, and efforts to take Israeli soldiers, some of which he said had happened in the past few weeks.
Arab and Islamic leaders are being criticized.
According to Abu Ubaida, the Arab and Islamic worlds are very frustrating him. In a strong message, he criticized governments and leaders for not doing anything about what he called Israel's "genocide" in Gaza. He said that tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians had been killed and that the leaders of the area should take moral responsibility.
He praised the Houthis in Yemen for setting up a strong front and thanked people around the world who are still taking chances to stand with the Palestinian people.
Abu Ubaida said that Hamas fully supports the group that is currently in informal talks with Israel. He said that the resistance had offered to trade all of Israel's prisoners for Palestinian ones several times as part of a full prisoner swap deal. But he said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down the plans, which led people to think that the prisoners might be dead.
He said that if Israel doesn't change its mind, Hamas might back out of limited or staged deals, like the earlier offer to trade 10 prisoners.
Abu Ubaida told those working with Israel in a direct message to turn away from their actions and return to their communities. He praised Palestinian families and groups that had officially turned their backs on traitors. He said that working with Arabs would not work and that anyone who did would be "burnt cards" in the eyes of the Palestinian people.
Final Thoughts and Background
Abu Ubaida ended by praising the strength and honor of the Palestinian people, saying that their unwavering determination to stay strong despite pain and lack continues to annoy their enemies.
In a linked statement, Hamas said that since Israel had failed to use force to free the prisoners, the only way forward is to arrange a swap of prisoners. The group said that its changing strategies have caught Israel off guard many times, making the Gaza war a turning point in the conflict and showing what it called the "increasing fragility of the Israeli state."
