‘We will not surrender,’ says Hamas as it announces the martyrdom of Abu Obeida, other leaders
“Our people defend themselves and will not give up their weapons as long as the occupation remains.”
Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced on Monday the martyrdom of its iconic spokesman, Abu Obeida, during the course of the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip. The group also announced the martyrdom of Muhammad Sinwar — the brother of Al-Qassam Brigades and Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar — who had assumed the leadership of Al-Qassam after Yahya was killed in action in October 2024.
Abu Obeida served as Al-Qassam’s spokesman for nearly two decades, during which he became the voice of the resistance in Gaza. Always appearing with a red keffiyeh covering his face and speaking under the nom de guerre Abu Obeida, Palestinians waited for his speeches — which provided war updates and glad tidings — with great anticipation. However, his true persona remained unknown. Al-Qassam’s new spokesman has revealed that Abu Obeida’s real name was Hudhayfah Samir Abdullah Al-Kahlout.
“They awaited his appearance with passion, seeing in him a source of inspiration and in his red keffiyeh, an icon for all free people of the world,” Al-Qassam’s new spokesman said in a video speech broadcast on Monday. “The great martyr commander, spokesman for Al-Qassam Brigades, the roaring voice of the nation, a man of his word and stance, the pulse of Palestine, its Al-Quds, its people, and its fighters.”
The new spokesman confirmed that he will assume his predecessor’s nom de guerre: “Commander Hudhayfah Al-Kahlout has departed and we have inherited his title, Abu Obeida.”
Abu Obeida was martyred in an Israeli assassination attempt when a building in the Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City was bombed in late August. The Israelis claimed they had killed the spokesman soon after the strike that killed 11 people, including children. However, Hamas had kept silent on the matter until today.
Al-Qassam also confirmed the martyrdom of senior leaders Hakam Al-Issa, Muhammad Sinwar, and Muhammad Shabana. The latter two were killed in an Israeli strike in May this year. Raed Saad was killed when the Israelis struck a vehicle in Gaza City in a blatant violation of the ongoing “ceasefire” earlier this month.
After announcing the ascension of its leaders, the new Qassam spokesman turned his attention to the matter of the disarmament of the resistance in Gaza. He urged the need to demilitarise Israel, as the Jewish supremacist state continues its genocidal assault on Gaza and strikes its neighbouring states at will and with complete impunity in pursuit of Greater Israel:
We urge everyone whom it may concern to work on disarming the occupation of its lethal weaponry, which has been used and continues to be used in the genocide of our people and aggression against the countries of the region, instead of focusing on light Palestinian rifles, which the enemy uses as a flimsy excuse to sabotage the ceasefire.
Abu Obeida rejected the notion of the Palestinians surrendering their weapons as long as the Israelis continue to occupy them. “Our people defend themselves and will not give up their weapons as long as the occupation remains,” he said. “And they will not surrender, even if they fight with their fingernails.”
He urged the Islamic nations to understand the real designs of Israel, which continues to add new “capitals to its target bank every day” and to “realise the weakness of this arrogant enemy, which has been humiliated on the soil of Gaza. Know that the occupation’s autumn has begun, the ‘curse of the eighth decade’ has befallen and that another battle is shaking its pillars and eroding its foundations today — a harbinger of its demise, God willing.”
Despite the “ceasefire” going into effect on October 10, the Israelis have not stopped slaughtering Palestinians for a single day. More than 400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the “ceasefire.” Moreover, in blatant violation of the truce terms, the Israelis are allowing only a tiny fraction of the agreed-upon 600 daily aid trucks into the besieged enclave.
As a result of the tight siege and the onset of the brutal winter, several infants have frozen to death. Rains, chilly winds, and plummeting temperatures have combined to wreak havoc on the famished Palestinians, as they struggle to keep themselves warm and safe in tattered plastic tents that are barely standing after months of continuous use.
Abu Obeida urged the “free people of the world” to keep escalating until Israeli aggression ceases and the genocidaires are brought to justice: “This aggression requires our people to confront it, sending a message to all free people of the world that the occupation’s aggression has not stopped, therefore, their movement must not stop either; it should continue and escalate publicly, politically, and legally so that criminals do not escape punishment.”
“Even if the cannons have fallen silent, Gaza is still suffering bitterly; it is our duty to aid and alleviate its suffering,” Abu Obeida added. “This is the least that can be offered to its people after many abandoned them during the genocide.”
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May all the martyrs rest in peace 🍀🕊and all israelis in piss
All the countries collaborating with the genocidal israeli regime to do all this, don't seem to grasp they, along with the rest of the world are all intended targets of greater israhell.