Hamas- Israel Conflict: The Great Game of Iran

Zahid Abbas

At 7 a.m. on Saturday, October 7th, early in the morning, Hamas, a resistance Movement, that controlled the Gaza Strip, launched a multi-pronged surprise attack named “Operation Al Aqsa Flood” on Israel with thousands of rockets on Israeli cities. Following the announcement of the operation by the Hamas commander, hundreds of Palestinians entered the Israel-controlled region by towing down the fence between Gaza and Israel. The attack came a day after the 50th anniversary of the surprise attack by Egypt and Syria in 1973 that started a major Middle East war. The significance of the date will not have been lost on the Hamas leadership. Approximately 600 people have died and more than 3000 have been injured from both sides. Palestinian Gaza is dead and wounded, making crumbling and overcrowded hospitals with severe shortages of medical supplies and equipment. There is fear and chaos all over the region; the streets are empty apart from ambulances. Videos and photos of dead civilians as well as soldiers are all over social media. Hamas justified its well-coordinated attack as a response to Israelis who are consistently involved in the desecration of Al Aqsa Majid.

As a response, Israel retaliated strongly by bombing Gaza and downing buildings into rubles. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country is at war and will exact a heavy price from its enemies. Hamas and Israel both confirmed that large numbers of Israeli captives, including senior officials, are under the control of Hamas.

On the international front, states are divided following the contemporary escalation between Hamas and Israel. Expectedly, western countries denounced the Hamas attack, pledged support for Israel, and issued a blunt warning that Israel has the right to defend itself. They openly called it a terrorist attack on the sovereignty of Israel. President Biden shows full solidarity with Israel. “I made it clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the government and people of Israel,” Biden said. On the other hand, Iran celebrated the Hamas attack and called it a ” Proud operation.”. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanani hailed the Palestinian attack on Israel. “ Today’s operation marked a new page in the field of resistance and armed operation against the occupiers. The resistance has so far achieved brilliant victories during this operation, and this is a bright spot in the history of the Palestinian people’s struggle against the Zionists”. Nasser Kananio said. Similarly, Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei said at a meeting in support of Palestinian children in Tehran ” We support the proud operation of Al–Aqsa Flood, and we are sure that the resistance front also supports this issue. At Iran’s parliament session on Saturday, representatives chanted the slogans “Down with Israel,” Down with America, and Welcome Palestine.

Iran’s government spokesperson, Ali Bahadori -Jahromi told state media that the attacks ” proved that the Zionist regime is more vulnerable than ever and the initiative is in the hands of Palestinian youth”.
The magnitude of the attack was huge. Hamas fighters attacked from all fronts: from the air through parachutes, boats from the sea, and the ground by breaking the fence between Gaza and Israel. Such a kind of attack shows that it was planned for a long time. Some reports are coming that Iran and Hamas have been planning such attacks for the last two years. Both parties were busy collecting weapons in Syria, which were later transferred to Hamas. Israeli media is also allegedly claiming that Hamas is firing Iranian Ababil 2 kamikaze drones. For that reason, many analysts are calling this escalation a war between Iran and Israel. Even Israeli President Isaac Herzog blamed Iran directly. ” I call upon the family of nations- this war waged against us marks a line in the sand. Now is the time to hear clear, Unequivocal condemnation of Hamas, its allies, and its backers in Iran. He said. We can also predict from here that Iran is directly backing that attack not only diplomatically but through funding and weapons.

Hezbollah, Lebanon’s powerful military group historically backed by Iran, showed solidarity with Hamas and fired rockets onto the three military posts in the Israel region of Shebas Farms. Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine said “We are not neutral in this war” … our attack in Shebas was a message – we tell the Israelis and the US to stop this “stupidity” or the whole region will be involved in the war.
The question now arises: why did Iran and Hamas choose such a specific time? Many Western scholars believe that Iran is trying to sabotage peace talks between Israel and the Arab world. As US Senator Tom Cotton said, “This war is a clear attempt by Iran to divert the peace talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia.” Such scholars believe Iran has realized that Saudi Arabia and other countries are going to recognize Israel following the steps of the United Arab Emirates. Iran also has uncertainty that, Pakistan might accept Israel following Saudi Arabia. If it happens Iran will be alone in the Muslim world against Israel. For this matter, Iran will go to every extent to destabilize the coming diplomatic effort of the Abraham Accord. Thus, the chances of a premeditated attack are high in a Hamas attack.

There are also chances that Iran has also taken Russia on board on this issue. Both Moscow and Tehran had cordial relations with Hamas. Hamas leaders have visited Moscow twice in the last twelve months. Putin found interest in this escalation. He is trying to divert the West attention from Ukraine. As Estonian lawmaker Marko Mihkelson said, “ The timing and reasons for the Hamas attack are linked to Russian and Iranian interests. It is quite obvious that Russia has a wider interest in both distracting attention from Ukraine and, on the other hand, complicating Israel’s rapprochement with Saudi Arabia by creating tension in the region.”

The writer is a student of International Relations at National Defence University, Islamabad.