Mashaal: Hamas is steadfast in its resistance option until the liberation of the land, despite the martyrdom of Sinwar

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said on Sunday that the movement "remains steadfast in its strategy based on the option of resistance until the liberation of the land and holy sites" in Palestine, despite the "martyrdom" of its political bureau chief Yahya Sinwar.

This came in a recorded audio speech during a condolence ceremony held by the Hamas leadership in the Turkish city of Istanbul after announcing the "martyrdom" of Sinwar.

On Friday, Hamas Political Bureau member Khalil al-Hayya mourned Sinwar, saying that he "was martyred while engaging and confronting the Israeli army until the last moment of his life."

In his speech, Meshaal added, "The movement is presenting its leaders on the path of martyrdom, pride, liberation, and getting rid of the (Israeli) occupation, headed by the movement's founder, Ahmed Yassin (assassinated by Israel in 2004)."

Speaking about Sinwar, Meshaal said: “The leader of the movement and commander of the flood (the Battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa) has dismounted, and he lived 6 decades as a free man among his people and his movement. He was free throughout his life, and he met his Lord free and with his head held high, as his martyrdom became an icon on the level of our people, the peoples of our nation, and the free people of the world.”

Mashaal addressed three axes during his speech, saying: “First, our blessed movement is faithful to the covenant after Abu Ibrahim (Yahya Sinwar) and the rest of the martyrs, and will remain loyal to its path, the path of the martyrs, its principles, values, ideals, and strategy in leadership and resistance, and whenever a leader dismounts, a new leader appears.”

He added: "Secondly, the movement's leadership will continue to monitor what is happening on the ground, and its heart and mind will remain occupied with the popular incubator that has endured the resistance, and the proud Gaza Strip is the greatest incubator, and the movement's leadership will continue to work to stop the (Israeli) aggression against it, especially in the last two weeks, when massacres are being committed in northern Gaza."

On October 5, the Israeli army began unprecedented bombing of the Jabalia camp and town and large areas in the northern Gaza Strip, before announcing the start of an invasion of these areas the next day, under the pretext of “preventing Hamas from regaining its strength in the region,” while the Palestinians say that Israel wants to occupy the region and displace its residents.

Hamas will look for a suitable solution

Mashaal stressed that "this enemy will lose, God willing, and your movement, O people of Gaza, will work to lift the injustice and massacres from you by negotiating and searching for a way out and a solution that guarantees our rights, lifts the injustice, and stops the aggression and occupation, and Gaza will remain honorable and free with the rest of Palestine."

Regarding the third axis, Meshaal said, “When Hamas raised the flag alongside its brothers from the resistance forces, its strategy is still to choose resistance until liberation and the recovery of Christian and Islamic holy sites, the return of prisoners, and the elimination of the Zionist project, which is a danger to Palestine and the nation.”

He continued: "As long as Hamas, the resistance forces and the people adhere to the resistance strategy, the nation must assume its responsibilities, because it is not the battle of the Palestinians, but rather the flood of Al-Aqsa, the first Qiblah and the legacy of our Master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him."

He concluded his speech by saying: “If you do not initiate conflict with the enemy, nothing will be accepted from you except submission, and our nation does not accept submission, and together we will defeat the enemy. This is a historic moment and opportunity for us to stand together in the face of the occupier, eliminate it, liberate Palestine, and relieve humanity of this usurping entity.”

On Thursday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the killing of Sinwar, adding that "the war is not over yet," while the Israeli army admitted that "the killing of Sinwar in the Gaza Strip was a coincidence."

Israel considers Sinwar the architect of Operation "Noah's Flood", which was carried out by Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, against Israeli settlements and military bases adjacent to the Strip on October 7, 2023, which caused significant human and military losses and negatively affected Israel's security and intelligence reputation.

On August 6, Hamas chose Sinwar, known as “Abu Ibrahim,” as head of its political bureau, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on July 31, in an attack for which Tel Aviv was blamed, although the latter did not acknowledge this.

Source: Anadolu Agency