In the early hours of the day, Palestinian resistance launched an attack on the occupying Zionist entity “Israel” and announced ‘Operation Tuphon Al Aqsa’ or Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.

What happened?

Hamas said it had fired more than 7,000 rockets against settlements and infiltrated occupied land, which was later confirmed by “Israel”, who also confirmed that the resistance groups had attacked from land, sea and air.

Rockets were fired as far north as Tel Aviv and armed drones were used to target IDF forces. Hamas also sent fighters into southern Israel, infiltrating the occupied land with motorised hang gliders. Reports claim that Hamas fighters had taken control of multiple Israeli civilian population centres. The resistance groups captured several IDF soldiers, Humvees and tanks from the Israeli army and brought them to Gaza. Many IDF soldiers were also been killed in their barracks near the border with Gaza leading to hundreds of citizens fleeing the border settlements. 

The “Israeli” army in response said it launched “Operation Iron Swords” in the Gaza Strip saying dozens of fighter jets were carrying out attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. “Israeli” airstrikes are now being seen in Gaza. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari says “Israel is officially at war” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a public statement said “Citizens of Israel, we are at war,”.

The early-morning strikes occurred on Simchat Torah, a holiday which falls towards the conclusion of the weeklong Jewish festival known as Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles. Western media highlighted this but it should be known that just a few days ago dozens of settlers forced their way into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex to mark the fifth day of Sukkot and attempted to perform “Talmudic rituals”. Thousands of settlers have been carrying out provocative tours of the mosque complex following calls by ultranationalist Jewish groups. 

Not only do they show hatred and contempt towards Muslims, the Jewish settlers display disgraceful acts of hatred towards Christians too. Police arrested five people for spitting towards Christians or churches in the Old City of Jerusalem as complaints grow of hostile gestures against Christians.

Why it happened? 

Al-Aqsa Storm Operation was launched in response to the decades long occupation, the continued and constant storming of Masjid Al-Aqsa and the killing and besiegement of the Palestinians. Hamas spokesperson Khaled Qadomi said the group’s military operation is in response to all the atrocities the Palestinians have faced over the decades. He said, “We want the international community to stop atrocities in Gaza, against Palestinian people, our holy sites like Al-Aqsa. All these things are the reason behind starting this battle,”.

The commander-in-chief of Al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, announced in his speech, “They attacked the stationed worshippers and desecrated Al-Aqsa… Hundreds have been martyred and injured this year due to the occupation’s crimes… The time has ended for them to act without accountability.” 

The Deputy Head of Hamas, Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri has also claimed that they believed “Israel” were preparing an attack in the coming days. “We have information that the occupation army was preparing, after the holidays, to launch a major aggression against our people in the West Bank and Gaza. The battle is coming, and the aggression began with the desecration of the sanctities and the enemy’s intention to attack Gaza and the West Bank.”

A message to Netanyahu from the US?

It is important that we try to understand these events and escalations from a political standpoint. In recent months we have mentioned that the US have been warning Netanyahu to take control of the far-right elements within his new government as it hinders western plans in their attempts to achieve their aims in the region, namely to internationalise Al-Aqsa and the holy sites and work towards an independent Jewish and Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders I.e. the ‘Two-State Solution’. 

Some questions need to be asked as to how “Israel” did not know about this ‘surprise’ attack at all given the fact that it has come the day after 50^th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, which was also deemed as a ‘surprise attack’ by Syria and Egypt on 6^th October 1973. It is bizarre to say the least, that with all of the surveillance in place, the “Israeli” government intelligence agency Mossad would have no information about this whatsoever. 

For that reason, when joining the dots, we cannot rule out that this was an attack allowed by the US in collaboration with Intelligence agencies and Palestinian groups as a message of warning to Netanyahu. Or even a decisive message that his time is up. 

Alternatively, Netanyahu has a proven track record of deploying such schemes in the past in order to use the enemy threat to gain public opinion or distract them from other domestic issues and policies. There have already been messages of intelligence failures on social media and amongst journalists which would have implications. Could this be a way of Netanyahu targeting the intelligence services who seem to be opposing him? It must be said, at this point this seems to be a much less likely scenario.

Treachery of the normalisers

With the normalisation process gaining momentum in recent weeks following the messages from Saudi Arabia, and in particular Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, this attack should serve as a reminder to the deceitful rulers of our lands. The message to them from the Ummah is clear. How dare they even speak about the possibility of normalising ties with the illegal Zionist entity, while our brave brothers and sisters will never contemplate the thought of giving up a single inch of the land and would go as far as sacrificing their lives to extinguish the enemies from the occupied blessed land. 

Saudi have already called for the immediate cessation of the escalation and have reiterated its call on the international community to “assume its responsibilities and [revive] a peaceful and credible process” to achieve the two-state solution.

Egypt warned of “grave consequences” from an escalation in a statement from the foreign ministry carried by the state news agency on Saturday. It called for “exercising maximum restraint and avoiding exposing civilians to further danger”.

Turkish President Erdogan called on “all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from impulsive steps that could escalate tensions”. 

We call on these leaders and ask how the bravery of the resistance fighters have not evoked their emotions and led them to put their full unequivocal support behind the Palestinian fighters in this noble cause!? How can they sit back and call for restraint and de-escalation instead of unleashing the Muslim armies who are ready to support their brethren in Jihad and the liberation of Palestine!?

We call on the leaders of the surrounding countries to give permission to the likes of the fighters of the Taliban, who have made preparations for Jihad and are awaiting the green light for the right of passage to Palestine and conquer Al-Quds. If you cannot unleash your armies, then at the very least allow passage through to those who are ready to fight and sacrifice in the way of Allah!

Taliban: “If the Muslim countries neighbouring Israel give us the right of passage, we will conquer Jerusalem.”

Message to the Ummah

Operation Tuphon Al-Aqsa has revealed that the so-called powerful enemy is just a mere illusion and is capable of easily being obliterated in no time. The fact that the ill-equipped resistance were able to ridicule the security system and control the fighting for long hours revealed the fragility and impotence of the Zionist entity. The cowardice of the enemy was clear for all to see as they fled their posts and army bases in fear of death. 

All Muslims must show their support for the Palestinian people and support the Jihad and resistance movements with whatever they are capable of. We must stand with the Palestinian people who are fulfilling their obligation and duty to Allah (SWT) to defend Palestine and the religious sanctities against the usurping Zionist entity. 

However, we must also be mindful that this operation is not a decisive response to the occupation and continuous crimes, violations against sanctities, honours and dignities. If anything, it is a renewed confirmation of the will of the Palestinian people to never accept the existence of “Israel” and that the Palestinian cause is an Islamic one which is everlasting and alive until the decisive victory and liberation is achieved. But it is certainly not the only choice in confronting aggression and occupation. 

The real and only solution is for the Muslim armies to rise up to expel the Zionist entity and liberate the land of Palestine completely. 

Dear Muslim brothers and sisters around the world, it is high time for the Ummah to expose and reject the normalisation attempts with the Zionist entity and restore in the Muslims that the issue of Masjid Al-Aqsa is an Aqeedah issue, an issue that unites us. We should demand that our scholars hold the rulers to account and call on the Muslim armies and masses to move in support of Al-Aqsa and all the countries surrounding Palestine must march towards the borders to wage Jihad for the sake of Allah.

Dear Muslims, we urge you to raise your voices and stand united in support of the Palestinian people and the resistance movements. Let us show the world that we are one in blood, word, and action in our commitment to the liberation of Palestine. 

Allah (SWT) says: 

“Permission (to fight) is given to those against whom fighting is launched, because they have been wronged, and Allah is powerful to give them victory.” 

(Surah Al-Hajj; 22:39)