Class 4: Resistance in Modern Times
Gaza leads the way
Gaza has emerged as a significant center of Palestinian resistance, particularly under the leadership of Hamas. After winning the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006, a unity government was formed between Hamas and Fatah, but significant ideological and political differences led to escalating tensions. These differences centered around approaches to governance, the “peace” process with the Zionist enemy, and control over Palestinian security forces and resources. By mid-2007, these tensions erupted into open conflict between the two groups, and in June 2007, fierce fighting broke out between Hamas and Fatah forces in Gaza.
This marked the beginning of Gaza's transformation into a base for Hamas's operations and a center of resistance against the Zionist regime. Throughout the past seventeen years, Hamas organized and launched multiple acts of resistance against the settler colony to persist in demonstrating its resilience against the occupation.
A TIMELINE OF
GAZA’S AGRESSIONS
The 2008-09 Zionist aggression on Gaza
This is more widely known as Operation Cast Lead.
The Zionist regime launched a major military operation targeting Hamas's infrastructure as a disguise to murder as many Palestinians as they could, whether ordinary civilians or freedom fighters. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, engaged in fierce fighting against the occupation. Despite significant casualties and extensive destruction in Gaza, Hamas's ability to continue its resistance efforts improved its standing among Palestinians, portraying it as a resilient defender of Palestine.
2012 Attack on Gaza
This is more widely known as Operation Pillar of Defence.
On the afternoon of November 14, 2012, when the Zionist Air Force targeted a vehicle in the Gaza Strip, martyring Ahmad al-Ja'bari, the head of Hamas's military wing in Gaza, and a passenger, Muhammad al-Hams. Over eight days, 87 Palestinians were massacred, including 35 children and 14 women. The aggression ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, further solidifying Hamas's role as a primary actor in Gaza's defense and resistance efforts.
2014 attack on Gaza
This is more widely known as Operation Pillar of Defence.
On July 8, 2014, the Zionist enemy launched a major military offensive against the Gaza Strip, known as Operation Protective Edge, which lasted until August 26. During this period, more than 2,251 Palestinians were brutally murdered, and over 11,000 were injured, resulting in significant destruction across Gaza. The offensive was launched during a period of heightened tensions following the establishment of a Palestinian unity government that included Hamas, which Israel viewed with disfavor. The Zionist regime claimed that Hamas was behind the abduction of three Israeli settlers in the West Bank despite lacking clear evidence. It used this claim as a pretext to justify and continue its genocidal attack and mass murder in Gaza.
2014 Gaza Beach Massacres
2014 Gaza beach massacres took place on July 9 and 16, 2014, amid the genocidal Zionist offensive on Gaza. In the first attack, US-funded Zionist missiles killed nine Palestinian kids who were watching the 2014 World Cup on TV.
In the second incident, four young boys from the Bakr family went to play near the boats at Gaza City's small harbor, only to be met with a Zionist airstrike that immediately murdered one of them as the remaining three ran for safety, later another missile targeted and killed them.
The Great March of Return 2018
When Palestinians in Gaza decided to hold a series of demonstrations each Friday in the Gaza Strip near the Occupied Palestine border from 30 March 2018 until 27 December 2019, Palestinians protested, demanding the right to return to their ancestral homes and an end to the blockade. Despite the peaceful nature of the protests, Palestinians were faced with tear gas and live sniper fire from Zionist forces as they responded live fire, resulting in the murder of more than 215 Palestinians, including 50 children. While these demonstrations highlighted the brutal response to peaceful protests, they also underscored the inherent weakness and insecurity of the Zionist occupation, despite receiving extensive military support from the United States.
2023 Genocide on Gaza
Before October 7th, 2023, Zionist forces carried out one of the most extensive raids on the occupied West Bank in over two decades. They targeted Jenin Hospital, bombed the Jenin refugee camp, and shot at journalists, resulting in the murder of at least eight Palestinians and more than fifty injured.
Over 200 Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli Occupation in the occupied West Bank through daily terrorist raids on Palestinian neighborhoods, and there was a notable rise in the establishment of illegal Israeli settlements. Armed settler terror gangs, supported by Zionist figureheads such as Bezalel Smotrich and backed by the IOF, conducted several violent assaults on more than a dozen Palestinian villages throughout 2023.
An oppressed group of people enduring relentless genocidal aggression and injustice will always be driven to resist its erasure. The October 7th Al Aqsa flood operation, which targeted military bases and aimed to use ‘Israeli’ settlers to negotiate the release of Palestinian political prisoners, was subsequently used by the US and the Zionist regime as a pretext for escalating and justifying their genocidal campaign and systemic mass murder against Gaza. As a result of the prolonged and gradual annihilation of Palestinians both in Gaza and the occupied West Bank over the years, the events of October 7th unfolded.
Over 300 days of genocide, at least 180,000 Palestinians have been massacred by the Zionist regime, over 1.4 million have been forcibly displaced, and 80% of Gaza has been destroyed. This will be the legacy of Zionist and American figureheads forever. It has never been more clear that resistance is essential and the collapse of the Zionist colony is imminent.
