Al-Qaeda Central Command Eulogizes Hamas Leader Sinwar, Calls For Jihad Against 'Zionist-Crusader Interests Worldwide' And Arab Regimes, Hopes To Be Part Of 'Second Al-Aqsa Storm'

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On October 25, 2024, Al-Sahab, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda Central Command, released a statement in Arabic and English titled "Now the Fighting Is To Come!", in which it eulogized Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, extended condolences to "the mujahideen in Gaza" on the "martyrdom of their leaders in the path of Allah," and urged Muslims to wage jihad against "Zionist-Crusader interests worldwide" and against the regimes of Arab countries.[1]

The statement's two versions were also uploaded to the Justpaste.it and Noteshare.id file-sharing websites, where they remain available 16 hours later.[2]

Praise For Sinwar And Other Slain Hamas Leaders

The statement, three pages long in its English version, praises Sinwar and other Hamas leaders for their steadfastness, heroism, and devotion to "the cause of Islam" – the liberation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque" – and asks Allah to crown them "the leaders of the martyrs of this era." Declaring that those behind Hamas' Operation Al-Aqsa Flood (also called Al-Aqsa Storm) were "the rightful managers of the affairs of the Ummah [Islamic nation]," it adds that they will be remembered as "icons of our contemporary history and as a source of pride, honor, and dignity" because they "fueled jihadi zeal towards the spiteful Zionists" and "filled the hearts of the Zionists with agony." It asks Allah to reward their jihad and "pardon their mistakes."

Call For Gazans To Continue Jihad, Praise For Muslims Who Attacked Israel 

Extending condolences to all Palestinians who have lost family in the war, the statement proclaims that all Muslims will be held accountable for abandoning the Gazans in their time of need. It urges the Gazans to remain steadfast, telling them that "betrayal, [as well as] the loss of life and martyrdom of leaders and loved ones, are the greatest signs of the victory that awaits our brothers," and calls on them to make their slogan "Now the fighting is to come!" The statement stresses that the death of leaders does not mean the end of jihad, and adds that Al-Qaeda prays for the "success and victory of our mujahideen brothers in Palestine" and for "every noble Muslim who fulfills the duty of jihad" and participates in "attacks against the Zionists." It also praises the "brothers in Jordan" who sacrificed their lives carrying out "daring attacks on Zionist-crusader targets in occupied Palestine."

Call For Jihad In Countries Bordering Israel

Stating that "this war is not going to end on the borders of Gaza or Lebanon," Al-Qaeda Central Command warns that the war "will keep spilling over to other lands until and unless the Muslim nation … assists its mujahid sons and overthrows the rulers who conspire with the Zionists and abet this genocidal war of extermination targeting our people in Palestine." The organization's leadership asserts that "it is a binding obligation on the youth of our Ummah to take part in the battle against the Zionists and their allies amongst the rulers of their own countries, vigorously and with the spirit of self-sacrifice." Furthermore, "the people of Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon" are likewise obligated to wage jihad, and that if they "lack sufficient strength to stop this tide," then "the circle of obligation spreads beyond these lands … until it includes every house in the Muslim community worldwide."

Islamic Scholars Must Actively Participate In Jihad Against "Zionist-Crusader Interests Worldwide," Muslims Should Emulate 9/11 Hijackers, Who Carried Out "First Al-Aqsa Storm" And Perpetrate "Second Al-Aqsa Storm"

Expressing support for the fatwa issued by the Organization for the Defense of the Honor of the Prophet, which called on all Muslims to join Operation Al-Aqsa Flood as part of "defensive jihad for the liberation of Palestine," the statement urges Islamic scholars to "join this battle by offering their blood on this path and by advising the Muslim youth on practical ways to target Zionist-Crusader interests worldwide." These scholars, it adds, must also call Muslims to "stand up against the apostate rulers and wage jihad against the primary source of our suffering."

Al-Qaeda Central Command exhorts all Muslims to emulate various attackers it presents as role models: Egyptian policeman Muhammad Salah, who killed three Israeli soldiers in June; Jordanian Maher Al-Jazi, who killed another three Israelis in September; the Kouachi brothers who perpetrated the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack; the 9/11 hijackers, who carried out "the first Al-Aqsa Storm Operation" – and also the Al-Qaeda mujahideen in "the Indian Subcontinent, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, the Islamic Maghreb, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Somalia" who perpetrated attacks as part of the campaigns called "Al-Quds [Jerusalem] will never be Judaized!" Asking Allah to "[make] us a support for our brothers and [grant] us the good fortune of becoming participants in the (second) Al-Aqsa Storm," Al-Qaeda's leadership reiterates its commitment to wage jihad until achieving victory or martyrdom.

It should be noted that Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have also released statements eulogizing Sinwar.[3] AQAP, which called to support Hamas, was harshly criticized by an Islamic State (ISIS) supporter who accused it of weak ideological commitment.[4]