Two years after the worst pogrom against Jews since the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, the defeat of Hamas remains key to preventing it from carrying out a new Holocaust today.
Since President Donald Trump announced his 20-point “peace” plan Sept. 29, Hamas has been pressing for “revisions” that would give it wider latitude to rebuild, rearm and launch new attacks. For his part, Trump is demanding Israel end its fight to decisively defeat Hamas.
Around the world, the Oct. 7 anniversary was marked by mobilizations in support of Israel’s right to exist as a refuge for Jews, as well as pro-Hamas celebrations of its murderous pogrom.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas murdered 1,200 men, women and children, Jews and others who lived and worked with them, and 250 people were taken hostage. Since then Hamas and its backers in Iran have repeatedly vowed to attack “again and again” until all the Jews are dead or gone.
Hamas’ response to Trump’s “peace” plan underscores that nothing has changed. Hamas has objected to giving up its weapons or its position in Gaza. It has set additional conditions for accepting the plan, for instance, saying a hostage release is only possible “provided the field conditions for the exchange are met.”
Yet shortly after Hamas released its first reply to Trump’s proposal, the U.S. president said, “Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,” adding, “Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza.” He ignored any need to consult with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump doubled down on his pressure on Israel’s government after Netanyahu expressed objections to Hamas’ conditions. He berated the Israeli leader for being “so f—ing negative.”
Netanyahu says his government will continue working with Washington “to end the war in accordance with the principles set forth by Israel.” This would have to mean the complete destruction of Hamas.
Talks have opened in Egypt between Israel and Hamas, overseen by Steven Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who had been centrally involved in U.S. machinations in the Middle East during Trump’s first term.
The first issue being addressed is the release of all remaining hostages.
Hamas officials are demanding the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza to coincide with its releases of the hostages.
The Israel Defense Forces continue to surround Gaza City and has reinforced its positions, but paused its offensive to take Hamas’ last main stronghold while talks continue. The IDF urged the city’s residents, who have mostly evacuated at IDF’s request, not to return.
Washington presses its own interests
Washington is now placing the responsibility for the continuation of the war on Israel, while pressing ahead on the aims of the U.S. imperialist rulers. When Trump talks about “peace,” he’s talking about imposing a “Pax Americana” for Washington to achieve the stability it needs to extend its domination and plunder in the Middle East. Competing capitalist rulers, including in France, Spain and Britain, are determined to get their share of the exploitation of the resources and labor power in the region. They say Israel is guilty of “genocide,” and call for a “two-state solution,” which would leave Hamas in charge of Gaza.
But Israel is not responsible for starting the war, or of its continuation today, nor for the disaster that has befallen working people in Gaza. That lies entirely with Hamas. Thousands in Gaza are hoping for an end to the conflict and for an end to Hamas’ tyrannical rule.
Gazans demand Hamas end war
“Hamas must say yes to this offer — we have been through hell already,” Mahmoud Bolbol, a construction worker in Gaza City, told the New York Times. “Hamas needs to understand: Enough is enough.” Most Gazans are not members of the group, he said, “so why drag us into this?”
Alaa Khalil, a mother of six living in a tent in Gaza, told the Wall Street Journal that before the war she supported Hamas. But Hamas’ attack on Israel and its conduct during the war has led her to back away from the group and its leadership. “I don’t feel like our suffering matters to them,” she said.
Despite digging a vast tunnel network in preparation for its pogrom, Hamas didn’t build a single shelter to protect people in Gaza. Their deaths, Hamas believes, are a martyrdom that brings pity from imperialist rulers, pushing them against Israel.
Others agree Hamas would never put the interests of the Palestinian people above its own. “They don’t care about what people think or public opinion,” Abdelhalim Awad, a bakery manager in central Gaza, told the Times. “If they cared about that, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Nidal Eissa, a father of three in Gaza City, told the Times he hopes to rebuild his life in a Gaza no longer ruled by Hamas. “If the war ends with solutions and the ruling system changes, I will open a business and stay in my country,” he said. “Most important is that they change the regime that dragged us into ruin and destruction.”
Hassan Shehada told the Times he hopes that peace will come and that the people of Israel and Gaza will realize their fates are intertwined. “Israel can’t give up on us and we can’t give up on Israel,” he said. “If there is no real peace built on solid foundations between us, nothing will work.”
This depends on Hamas being completely defeated. If the end of the war leads to its survival, Hamas will rebuild and carry out more pogroms. While Netanyahu’s capitalist government looks to Washington, he also acts on the reality that Hamas will never back off its commitment to Israel’s destruction. If Washington compromises the fight to dismantle Hamas, he says Israel “will finish the job.”