Hamas issued a “Declaration of General Mobilization” Tuesday in what an expert warned was an “unambiguous call to arms” after Israel declared war following the Hamas’ terrorist incursion Saturday that killed more than 900 Israelis, including beheading babies.
“A call to our Palestinian people, the masses of the Arab and Islamic world, and free people worldwide,” the statement reads, as translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. “We declare next Friday, ‘The Friday of the Al-Aqsa Flood,’ as a day of general mobilization in our Arab and Islamic world and among the free people of the world.”
The statement refers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem near the Western Wall of the Second Jewish Temple, a site of regular tensions between Jews and Muslims. (Read the full statement below.)
“We call upon our rebellious youth throughout the West Bank, in its cities, villages, and uprising camps, in the streets and neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and at the squares of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, to rise up, join massive demonstrations, and shake the ground beneath the feet of the Zionist invaders and their settler gangs,” the statement adds. “Engage with their soldiers and cowardly army in every place, affirming the unity of destiny and the path towards Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, liberating them from the defilement of the Zionist occupation.”
Hamas urges “the masses of our Arab and Islamic nation and our Palestinian people in all places” to march toward “the borders of our beloved Palestine in massive gatherings.” It also urges “the free people of the world to mobilize in solidarity with our Palestinian people and in support of their just cause and legitimate rights to freedom, independence, return, and self-determination.”
Robert Greenway, director of the Center for National Defense at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal that the statement will result in bloodshed. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
“It is an unambiguous global call to arms,” Greenway said. “It will be heeded. There will be blood.”
Earlier Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces reported having regained control over the border with the Gaza Strip, roughly 72 hours after Hamas terrorists blew through sections of the barrier and launched the invasion early Saturday morning, The Times of Israel reported.
Hamas militants attacked Israel on the last day of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, as well as the Sabbath day of rest and the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. The terrorists slaughtered more than 1,200 Israelis, including about 250 at a music festival, and kidnapped more than 100. The State Department confirmed Wednesday that 22 Americans had died in the attack.
“This morning, on Shabbat and a holiday, Hamas invaded Israeli territory and murdered innocent citizens, including children and the elderly,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday. “Hamas has started a brutal and evil war.”
“They didn’t go for military targets. They went for civilians. They went for grandmothers, children, babies,” Israel Defense Forces’ international spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said in a video message Sunday. “The numbers are unprecedented.”
“The style of attack is barbaric,” Hecht added. “In a way, this is our 9/11.”
Hamas militants shot civilians at bus stops, on roads, and in their cars, photos show, according to Israeli experts who spoke to the Times of Israel. Videos reportedly show Israeli civilians, including women and children, getting abducted and taken to Gaza. Two videos raise concerns of sexual assault or rape.
An Israel Defense Forces commander told journalists that soldiers found beheaded babies in the carnage of Hamas terrorists.
Israeli forces have launched airstrikes into Gaza, preparing for an assault to root out Hamas in response to the horrific terrorist incursion.
President Joe Biden has unequivocally stood with Israel in the attack’s aftermath, though critics have claimed that Biden’s negotiations with Iran—including a $6 billion prisoner swap—emboldened Tehran, which supports and finances Hamas.
Rabbi Tuly Weisz, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who left Ohio for Israel and who founded the news outlet Israel365, told The Daily Signal that Hamas’ call to arms represented an act of desperation.
“They’re posturing,” Weisz wrote in a WhatsApp message Wednesday. “There won’t be Hamas by Friday.”
He said Hamas aims to mobilize people outside Gaza “because they’re getting destroyed.”
Yet Hamas’ reach extends far beyond Gaza. Protesters have expressed support for Palestine—and in some cases, clear support for the Hamas attacks—in cities across the West. Some chapters of the American group Black Lives Matter have expressed support for Hamas after the attacks.
Students for Justice in Palestine, a U.S. pro-Palestinian group that has reportedly harassed Jews on college campuses, has organized a national “day of resistance” for Thursday.
Even if no Hamas exists in Gaza on Friday, the terrorist group’s supporters worldwide may pose a threat on that day—especially inside Israel.
Khaled Mashal, a former leader and founding member of Hamas, delivered a speech broadcast on the Yemeni TV channel Ah Mahriah, apparently echoing the key points of the Hamas statement.
Rachid Hammami, a Moroccan former Muslim convert to Christianity, drew attention to Mashal’s speech on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Go out into places, squares, in the Arab and Islamic streets, and throughout the communities everywhere,” Mashal said, according to Hammami’s translation. “There is a call on Friday, the Friday of the Al-Aqsa flood. But we do it before Friday, after Friday, and on Friday.”
He called for financial support to Gaza and Hamas: “This is a jihad with money, just as [Hamas members] are fighting with their souls.”
“He asked political pressure, from Muslim leaders and Muslim nations, to stop Israel’s military invasion of Gaza,” Hammami wrote of Mashal’s remarks. “The most important thing: He asked all Muslims around the world to carry Jihad by their souls; to fight and be martyrs for Al-Aqsa. He wants Muslims to fight against the Jews, starting with Muslims who live in the countries surrounding Israel: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt (but also other countries), to go to the borders and try to enter, each by his own means.”
Hammami told The Daily Signal that Mashal “used terminology we all know in Jihad. He used a very special term. It’s like a code.”
“We call ‘Al-Nnafir Al-A’M,’” the former Muslim said. “This is used in extreme cases where everybody should carry an arm and do what he can.”
Hammami predicted “possible terrorist attacks next Friday (or even before), in European countries and the U.S. against Jewish targets, and also American targets.” He also predicted “possible attacks against Americans and Jews in some of the Muslim countries.”
“I predict no one will show up at the borders of Israel to carry Jihad,” Hammami added.
Read the full Hamas statement here, courtesy of the Middle East Media Research Institute:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
“Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah. That is better for you, if you only knew.”
A call to our Palestinian people, the masses of the Arab and Islamic world, and free people worldwide.
Declaration of General Mobilization
Next Friday: ‘Al-Aqsa Flood Friday’ in support of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, and the jihad-waging Gaza.
Palestine and its steadfast people, standing their ground, call upon you from the heart of the Al-Aqsa Flood battle. Answer the call, muster all your energies, and mobilize in numbers, both light and heavy, to support Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, and the jihad-waging Gaza.
From Palestine, the land of Al-Isra and Al-Mi’raj, from the heart of Jerusalem and its surroundings, we extend this call to the living conscience within the hearts of the masses of our Arab and Islamic nation.
The Palestinian resistance, led by the Al-Qassam Brigades, stands at the forefront, illustrating the most magnificent images of heroism and sacrifice against the Zionist occupation. They defend the land, Jerusalem, and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. They protect the dignity of Palestinian women and defend our male and female prisoners on behalf of our entire nation.
From the fortress of resistance and pride in the Gaza Strip, from its steadfast people, men, women, children, and elders, who defy the occupation, and from its minarets, chambers, and mosques, which are subjected to the heinous aggression of the Zionist war machine, we send this call to the free sons and daughters of our Arab and Islamic nation across the world.
Given this historic achievement of our people and their courageous resistance, and to bolster the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in the face of the open aggression of the occupation, thwart its schemes and dreams of Judaizing Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, and achieve victory for the just cause of our Palestinian people and our struggle for the liberation of our land, prisoners, and sanctities, we, in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), affirm the following:
First: We declare next Friday, ‘The Friday of the Al-Aqsa Flood,’ as a day of general mobilization in our Arab and Islamic world and among the free people of the world. It is a day to rally support, offer aid, and participate actively. It is a day to expose the crimes of the occupation, isolate it, and foil all its aggressive schemes. It is a day to demonstrate our love for Palestine, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa. It is a day for sacrifice, heroism, and dedication, and to earn the honor of defending the first Qibla of Muslims, the third holiest mosque, and the ascension of the trusted Messenger.
Second: We call upon our rebellious youth throughout the West Bank, in its cities, villages, and uprising camps, in the streets and neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and at the squares of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, to rise up, join massive demonstrations, and shake the ground beneath the feet of the Zionist invaders and their settler gangs. Engage with their soldiers and cowardly army in every place, affirming the unity of destiny and the path towards Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, liberating them from the defilement of the Zionist occupation.
Third: Our people within the occupied territories of 1948, people of honor and courage, who have borne much to preserve their Palestinian-Arab identity. This day is your day to mobilize, assemble, and stand united in guarding the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Preserve it, its Islamic heritage, its divine message, and prevent settler gangs from desecrating it. Thwart the fascist occupation’s plans to divide it, Judaize it, and build their alleged temple. Unite with your people in Gaza and the West Bank.
Fourth: We call upon the masses of our Arab and Islamic nation and our Palestinian people in all places, including refugee camps and the diaspora, to march towards the borders of our beloved Palestine in massive gatherings. On this day, we declare our solidarity with Palestine, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa. For those geographically distant, let them gather at the nearest point leading to Jerusalem.
“Fifth: We call upon the free people of the world to mobilize in solidarity with our Palestinian people and in support of their just cause and legitimate rights to freedom, independence, return, and self-determination.
Oh, sons of our people, the masses of our Arab and Islamic nation, and all free individuals,
Here is Palestine calling out to you, and Al-Aqsa Mosque calling out to you. It awaits your response to fulfill the duty of brotherhood and dignity, to stand with our people and their resistance, and to honorably defend the blessed land of Palestine and protect the dignity of our nation in its Jerusalem and ascension.
“And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might.”
Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas
Tyler O’Neil is managing editor of The Daily Signal and the author of “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center.”
