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January 21, 2025 Special Dispatch No. 11790

Arab Journalists On Social Media Slam Hamas: Gaza Is In Ruins And Tens Of Thousands Have Been Killed. If This Is Victory, What Does Defeat Look Like?

January 21, 2025
Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 11790

After Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement on January 15, 2025, Hamas political bureau member Khalil Al-Hayya delivered a speech on Qatar's Al-Jazeera channel in which he declared that "the Al-Aqsa Flood war was an important turning point in the history of the Palestinian people." He added that "the security and military miracle and accomplishment of October 7, carried out by the elite forces of the Al-Qassam [Brigades], will remain a source of pride for our people and our resistance, and will be passed down from generation to generation." Stating that Israel has failed to achieve its declared goals in the war and to defeat Hamas, he promised that the jihad against it will continue, and thanked all the forces that helped Hamas in the war, including Iran, Hizbullah and Al-Jama'a Al-Islamiyya in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the resistance factions in Iraq and "the rebelling young people in the West Bank," especially in Jenin, Jerusalem and inside Israel. Al-Hayya also thanked Qatar and Egypt for brokering the negotiations, as well as many countries that supported Hamas, including Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Russia, China, Malaysia and Indonesia.[1]

Other Hamas officials likewise rushed to claim victory, stating that Hamas managed to deal Israel heavy blows while preventing it from achieving its objectives, and describing the ceasefire agreement as an "achievement" in which Hamas managed to impose its terms on Israel.[2]  

In response to these statements, Arab journalists and writers took to X to slam these Hamas officials for presenting the war and the ceasefire agreement as a victory despite the immense destruction in Gaza, the displacement of hundreds of thousands and the death of tens of thousands. They accused Hamas of brining "an unprecedented catastrophe" upon the Palestinian people and wondered how the movement could describe this as a victory when it is blatantly a defeat. Some mocked Khalil Al-Hayya's "false victory speech" and called him a "snake," in sarcastic reference to the meaning of his name in Arabic. They also claimed that the October 7 attack, which Hamas calls the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, was actually a flood of destruction for the Iranian axis, which has been pounded by Israel, and a betrayal of the Palestinian people.

The following are examples of these posts on X.

What Kind Of Victory Is This, With Tens Of Thousands Killed And Wounded And Gaza In Ruins?

Saudi media figure Yahya Al-Shabraqi wrote: "[Hamas official Khalil] Al-Hayya called Hamas' victories in Gaza 'miraculous'!!! Oh Al-Hayya,[3] if you see this [spilled] blood and destruction as a 'victory,' I'd like to know how you would describe a defeat!!!..."[4]

Saudi journalist Abd Al-Aziz Al-Khames wrote: "Since yesterday, I have been laughing at the extent of the stupidity of the Muslim Brotherhood, [Hamas' parent organization]. They say Hamas has won. Yes, it won after seeing 200,000 [Gazans] killed and wounded, 80% of Gaza destroyed and the Israeli army occupying Gaza. What a strange world. [All] they care about is that Hamas endured…"[5]

Abd Al-Hak Snaibi, a Moroccan security commentator, wrote: "The Al-Jazeera channel, which competes with Satan, is trying to convince the Arabs and Muslims… that the martyrdom of over 70,000 Palestinians, the annihilation of Gaza and the displacement of hundreds of thousands is a great and honorable victory. Oh criminals! The people [of Gaza] are glad that the tragedy and bloodshed may be at an end, and their joy has nothing to do with victory."[6]

"Saudi businessman and blogger Monther Aal Al-Sheikh Mubarak shared a cartoon showing  Al-Hayya giving his "victory speech" while surrounded by a sea of corpses, and commented: "A little while ago I listened to Hamas' victory speech [delivered by Al-Hayya on Al-Jazeera], and I could not find a better [illustration of it] than this cartoon!! May Allah help our people in Gaza against these people and keep them away from their evil and adventures…"[7]

Palestinian journalist Ayman Khaled shared a picture of Gaza in ruins, and wrote: "What brings [me] to tears about the Palestinian arena is the claims of victory [made by Hamas officials], when they have wrought the greatest tragedy in history…"[8]

Muhammad Al-Hababi, a Saudi researcher of international relations, wrote: "After 466 days of war, destruction and extermination, and after over a million innocent civilians have been displaced, [people] who before the war had electricity, food and water, and whose children went to school and shaped their future, today none of these things are available [in Gaza]. All of Hamas' leaders and fighters have been killed, yet there are still some who say 'we won, and thank you, Iran.'"[9]

If Hamas Thinks It Has Gained A Victory, Then It's A Victory Over The Palestinians

Saudi journalist Hussein Al-Waday wrote: "I am glad that the war in Gaza has stopped and I share the joy of the oppressed people who have been subject to every kind of killing and oppression. But if Hamas thinks it has gained a victory, then it's a victory over the Palestinians, for it has destroyed their lives and future and defeated their cause, bringing it to the brink of the grave."[10] 

Saudi writer Jamal Abd Al-Aziz Al-Tamimi wrote, in reference to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas: "…The price of this ridiculous agreement is 65,000 Palestinians [killed]!!"[11]

Saudi writer Fahd Deepaji shared a cartoon that depicts Khalil Al-Hayya as a snake (a reference to the meaning his name). The snake, coiled around the ruins of Gaza, says: "We achieved a total victory in Gaza."[12]

In another post, Deepaji shared the text of the ceasefire agreement, and commented "[The agreement aims to] restore Gaza to what it was before October 7, but without the 50,000 Palestinians who have been killed, with desolate land and empty buildings, without a liberation of Palestine and without the victory that the Muslim Brotherhood and its contractor [Hamas] are trying to market…"[13]

He also shared a video showing Gazans celebrating the ceasefire, and wrote: "The immense joy [that broke out] the moment the ceasefire in Gaza [was declared] shows that what the peoples want is peace, not slogans… which bring nothing but destruction, extermination and devastation."[14]

Saudi journalist Ibrahim Al-Sulaiman ridiculed Hamas for touting a false victory, and concluded sarcastically: "We won. We won. Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza and all the cities have been liberated, the occupier has been expelled, the [Israeli] cities have been destroyed and razed to the ground, two million of their citizens are displaced and starving, and the human cost is 50,000 dead and 150,000 wounded… [Isma'il] Haniya has been appointed president and [Yahya] Sinwar vice president. Delusions are for free."[15]

Israel Crushed Hamas And Humiliated Iran And Its Militias; Hamas Is A Traitor

Several of the writers claimed that Hamas not only failed to win but was utterly defeated and crushed by Israel, along with the Iranian axis. Some even accused Hamas of treachery due to its loyalty to this axis.

Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati researcher and professor of Political Science, wrote: “Hamas ratified a surrender agreement just as the Iranian party in Lebanon [i.e., Hizbullah] did before it. Thus collapsed Iran’s myth of the Islamic resistance, which has not liberated one inch of Palestine or advanced a single step toward Jerusalem but [only] brought devastation upon the land and its people wherever it established itself – for resistance is meant to be national or not to exist at all.”[16]

Iraqi politician Faiq Al Sheikh Ali wrote: “… It is a shame and a disgrace, the repeated claims about a Hamas victory in Gaza. Hamas was defeated, and in the worst way. It surrendered and was humiliated. As for Israel, it pulverized Hamas, completely demolished Gaza, killed many of its people, and totally humiliated Iran, removing it from the equation of the conflict. This is defeat by any criterion.”[17]

Saudi writer and poet Muhammad Al-Quaiz mocked Hamas and the name it chose for its October 7 massacre, the Al-Aqsa Flood, writing: “This is a flood of destruction – the destruction of Hamas and the [Iranian] axis.”[18]

Palestinian journalist Ayman Khaled shared  the remarks made by Khalil Al-Hayya on Al-Jazeera in which he thanked Hamas' allies in the resistance axis that helped it in the fighting against Israel, and commented: “[This is] the height of betrayal. 'Congratulations to Iran, Hizbullah, the Houthis, the Iraqi militias and the militias in Jenin who are collaborating with Iran' – that was the gist of the remarks made by the snake Khalil Al-Hayya in his false victory speech yesterday.”[19]

Kuwaiti writer Muhammad Al-Mulla likewise quoted from Al-Hayya's speech, and remarked: "Betrayal is their systematic way. [Al-Hayya] thanks the Houthis, Hizbullah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards, and praises the glorious victory, after 50,000 Palestinians have been martyred and Gaza has been destroyed because of them. And then they ask the Gulf states to rebuild Gaza so that [Hamas officials] can pad their bank accounts. Let me say this in the briefest manner: We will not forget what you have done to the Palestinian people. We are on their side, not yours."[20]

 

 

[2] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), January 15, 2025; shehabnews.com, January 16, 2025; aljazeeramubasher.net,  January 16, 18, 2025, almasryalyoum.com, January 17, 2025; hamasinfo.info, January 18, 2025. See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11788, Hamas Officials In Triumphant Statements Following Ceasefire Agreement With Israel: Things Will Go Back To The Way They Were Before October 7; We Will Continue The Jihad Against Israel; Hundreds Of Hamas Fighters Will Leave Gaza Through Rafah Crossing, January 20, 2025.

[3] Al-Shabraqi placed a snake emoji here, in reference to Al-Hayya's name, which means 'snake' in Arabic.

[4] X.com/yahyaa12a, January 16, 2025.

[5] X.com/alkhames, January 16, 2025.

[6] X.com/abdelhaksnaibi, January 16, 2025.

[7] X.com/monther72, January 15, 2025.

[8] X.com/aypress, January 19, 2025.

[9] X.com/Malqahtani32, January 16, 2025.

[10] X.com/AlaadayHussein, January 16, 2025.

[11] X.com/Jamal_Atamimi, January 16, 2025.

[12] X.com/fahddeepaji, January 16, 2025.

[13] X.com/fahddeepaji, January 16, 2025.

[14] X.com/fahddeepaji, January 15, 2025.

[15] X.com/70sul, January 15, 2025.

[16] X.com/Abdulkhaleq_UAE, January 15, 2025.

[17] X.com/faigalsheakh, January 16, 2025.

[18] X.com/ALQUAiZ, January 16, 2025.

[19] X.com/aypress, January 16, 2025.

[20] X.com/Mohdalmulla67, January 16, 2025.

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