It has been three years since October 7, 2023. This day will always have a special significance in the history of Palestine. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a ‘tipping point’ represents the moment in a system beyond which a significant and unstoppable change takes place. For Palestine, that tipping point was reached on Oct. 7, 2023 as Hamas attacked Israel. But this coordinated surprise attack was something that had never been seen or achieved. Termed Toofan Al-Aqsa (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood), it is reported that around 5,000 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Some 6,000 members of the Al-Qassam Brigades crossed into Israel. They allegedly attacked hundreds of civilians and seized multiple hostages. The Israeli government claims that 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 people were taken hostage.
Another significant aspect of the Hamas attack was that 12 major IDF bases were captured, and the commanders of those bases were either killed or captured. This was an unparalleled military achievement that was never achieved in any previously fought Arab-Israeli war. But what did this ‘shock and awe’ inflicted by Hamas on Israel achieve? Wasn’t Gaza decimated by Israel? Didn’t the people of Gaza experience a modern-day genocide and a calamitous war full of war crimes that killed 74,000 (most of them women and children), destroyed more than 371,000 housing units, and flattened half of the hospitals in Gaza?
The siege of Gaza and the dastardly killing of Palestinians continue unabated. Hamas finds itself isolated politically. Its closest allies in the form of an Iranian-backed ‘axis of resistance’ have been considerably weakened and are no longer the threat they once posed to Israel. The spate of high-profile assassinations virtually eliminated the top military and political leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. With such debilitating setbacks and tactical defeat at all levels, was the decision taken by Hamas to conduct the October 7 attacks a strategic catastrophe? Didn’t the Hamas leadership anticipate the response by Israel and all its allies to such a major attack?
Moreover, what was the plan to meet the expected Israeli onslaught on Gaza? On a simplistic level, all the answers to these questions show Hamas leadership in poor light and make one believe that October 7 was not a day of victory but a day that foretold the doom and gloom that would overwhelm the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause.
Burning Your Ships
There is a legend about Tariq bin Ziyad, the Umayyad commander who first conquered the Iberian Peninsula, i.e., present-day Spain and Portugal, in April 711 CE. It is said that after reaching Jabal Tariq (Gibraltar), he ordered all his ships to be burned to prevent cowardice and give a strong signal to his troops that there was no going back. It had to be victory or martyrdom. To understand why Hamas went for Al-Aqsa Flood, one will have to understand the situation for Gaza and the Palestinian cause that was unfolding rapidly.
For more than 16 years, the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza were leading a life under siege and being deprived of movement, trade, commerce, and the benefits of a free nation. More than half the population was unemployed; 80% of Gazans lived below the poverty line; and 1.2 million Palestinian refugees had to depend on UNRWA for emergency food assistance. Settler expansion continued unabated and unpunished in the West Bank.
More importantly, the almost routine incursions by Israeli forces into the Masjid al Aqsa (Bait al Maqdis) gave ample signals that there were no red lines for Israel and something disastrous could happen with the increasingly rapid demands of the ultra-nationalist Jews. For Hamas, the fast-changing diplomatic and geopolitical positions of the leading nations in the Middle East spelt an existential threat. The 2020 Abraham Accords were aimed at normalising relations with Israel by delinking those relations from the question of Palestine.
The gravity of the situation could be felt vividly by Hamas when Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly on 22 September 2023 and ‘hailed recent so-called normalisation’ deals between Israel and Arab states, stressing that Palestinians must not have veto over such agreements. Netanyahu held up two maps of the Middle East with Israel highlighted in blue. Both maps showed the occupied Palestinian territories – the West Bank and Gaza – as well as Syria’s occupied Golan Heights as being part of Israel. Thus, for any sincere Palestinian leadership, all this added up to a loud and yet simple signal – status quo was becoming a strategic threat. It was now or never. The ships had to be burned.
What Did October 7 Achieve?
If one studies the episode of Bait-e-Rizwan (that took place in Hudaibiyah) from the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammadﷺ; it comes out very clearly that it was a pledge unto death or an undertaking that the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ would not turn away from the battlefield. The spirit of Rizwan may have inspired the Hamas leadership to undertake what apparently appears to be a ‘kamkaze’ attack on Israel. And yet, three years on, many analysts say that the October 7 attacks have done more for Palestine than anything before.
In a special article in the Al-Hadaf news portal to mark the third anniversary of Operation Toofan Al-Aqsa, the writer says, “The Zionist entity is facing an unprecedented existential crisis. This is reflected in the erosion of its military system, deepening internal social and political divisions, and growing international and United Nations isolation. It is also evident in the setbacks suffered by its regional projects, such as the Abraham Accords, and the collapse of its ambitions for absolute dominance.”
As the Palestinian people and freedom-loving people around the world commemorate the anniversary of Al-Aqsa Flood, one clear truth emerges: the machinery of extermination and destruction has only strengthened Palestinians’ attachment to their land and their fundamental principles. The legitimacy forged on the ground, together with immense sacrifices, has dispelled all illusions of a decisive Zionist victory. Gaza remains unbroken, and its path towards liberation and return remains inevitable.
Allah says, “As for those who strive in Our cause, We shall surely guide them to Our Ways. Indeed, Allah is with those who do good.” (Surah Ankabut Verse 69). It means Allah does not leave alone those who strive in His cause sincerely, even at the risk of a conflict with the entire world, but He helps and guides them and opens for them ways towards Himself. He teaches them at every step the way of winning His approval and goodwill and He shows them the light at every turning point to discriminate between the right way and the wrong ways of life. In short, Allah helps and succours and guides them according to their sincerity and intensity of desire for goodness.