Like Badr Like Gaza by Ishaaq Muhammad Jamiu
Today, being the 17th of Ramadaan is exactly 1,443 years ago when the Badr battle was fought. It was indeed a day of a historic and massive event. A day the Qur’aan described as the day of Criterion between the truth and falsehood, and a day in which the arrogant Quraysh, among whom were ‘Abu Jahl, ‘Utbah bin Rabii’ah, and ‘Umayyah bin Halaf, fell like mere birds in front of the Allaah-aided Muslim Army.
The resilient people of Gaza in the ongoing war have successfully reminded the global Muslims of, and at the same time, demonstrated the true meaning of piety, knowledge of certainty, total and unconditional submission, scintillating servitude, reliance on Allaah, being pleased with His decree, and feeling His love-whether in pains or gains.
Israel has been dealing ruthlessly with Hamas since 1948. But in an event that shook the world, precisely on October 7, 2023, Israel got a rude shock attack from Hamas, where about 1,400 were reportedly killed while over 4,000 were said to have been injured. Some Israeli figures were also taken as hostages.
Since the development, there has been a series of bombardments from the side of the Israeli authority, mostly through the night, with roughly 2,907 Israeli massacres, 32,815 casualties, 14,800 children, 9,320 women, 384 medical personnel, 58 civil defense crew, and 139 journalists in the last 170 days.
There had been many frustrating and disgusting statements from Israeli bigwigs, consequent to the Hamas October 7 attack, some of which are listed below.
Ghassan Alian, a Major General of the Israeli Army said on October 9th “Animal humans will be treated accordingly, you want hell and you will get hell.”
Maya Golan, Israel’s Minister of Women Affairs said on October 13: “I want to tell the world what they have known about me in Israel: I don’t care about Gaza. I don’t care about Gaza. They can go swimming in the sea.”
Israeli President, Yitzhak Herzog, said at an International Press Conference on the 15th of October: “It is an entire nation who are responsible. This rhetoric about civilians supposedly not being involved is untrue, and we will fight until we break their back.”
Israeli Defense Minister, Yoay Gallant, said on the 9th of October: “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting animal people and we are acting accordingly.” Tally Gotliv, an Israeli politician of the Lukid party said on October 9: “Jericho missiles! Doomsday weapon! That’s my opinion.
Powerful rockets to be fired without borders. Gaza to be smashed and razed to the ground, without mercy.” Ezra Yachin, a veteran of the Israeli Army said: “Wipe out their families, their mothers and children. The animals must not be allowed to live any longer.”
Ariel Kallner, an Israeli politician, also of the Lukid party, said on October 7: “Now there is one goal: NAKBA(expulsion of the Palestinians). A NAKBA in Gaza that will dwarf the NAKBA of 1948.”
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Daniel Hagari, Israeli Army spokesperson said on October 10: “We are dropping hundreds of tons of bombs on Gaza. The focus is on destruction, not accuracy.”
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said on the 8th of October: “We will turn Gaza into an island of ruins.” Israel has been hell-bent on bringing to bear the above roadmap to punish Hamas for the strike, free its men taken as hostages, prove its superiority in the Middle East, laundry its already dented image in the eyes of its admirers, actualize its aim of wining and dining on Gaza oil, entrench its hegemony on Palestine, and extend same to other axis.
But in sharp contrast to Israel’s expectations, even where the 23 Arab nations and 57 Muslim countries are not able to render any tangible assistance to Hamas, the resilient people of Gaza have been able to put Israel to shame.
Prominent among recent Israel’s criminal assaults on the oppressed people of Gaza was the raid its IDF carried out on Monday night, the 18th of March to be precise, against ‘Ash-Shifaa’, the largest medical facility in Gaza, claiming that Hamas was operating from the hospital. Heavy gunfire triggered panic inside the hospital complex, and fire consequently broke out in the hospital’s surgical wing due to the Israeli bombing. Many medics, patients, and other people were killed while others sustained various degrees of injury.
For the third time since the October 7 significant event, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution on Monday, calling for a temporary ceasefire throughout Ramadaan and the release of all Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Israel has decided to recall its negotiating team from Qatar following Hamas’ rejection of the latest offer in talks aimed at securing a hostage deal and ceasefire, according to an Israeli official, as reported by TIMES of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement expressing disappointment over Hamas’ refusal to accept a compromise brokered by the United States. The rejection is seen by Israel as clear evidence that Hamas is not genuinely committed to any favorable truce with her. It also sees it as a setback to the recent UN Security Council resolution advocating for a ceasefire.
The Prime Minister’s Office criticized Hamas for reverting to “extreme demands”, which include insisting on a complete cessation of hostilities and the full withdrawal of IDF from Gaza. Israel asserts that it will not yield to what it perceives as unrealistic demands from Hamas.
Meanwhile, a diplomatic source, as reported by Hebrew-language media revealed that Hamas’ demands included granting Gazans unrestricted access to the northern part of the Strip while neglecting to address the issue of hostage release. In response to Hamas’ uncompromising stance, the Israeli negotiating team is being withdrawn from Qatar. The sentiment conveyed by the source suggests a lack of viable dialogue with Hamas, leading to the conclusion that further negotiations in Qatar would be unproductive.
Consequent to this, Israel has canceled the Washington meeting that it was supposed to attend. It was believed that Russia and China’s veto and the US’s abstinence from voting contributed largely to the new truce. In his reaction to the development on Tuesday, Netanyahu declared: “Israel will not submit to the delusional demands of Hamas, and will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war; to release all the abductees, to destroy the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”
The two warring sides have shown little movement in their demands despite weeks of efforts by US, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators, to find a way to bring a temporary halt in fighting, the release of hostages, and an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. After the whole “drama”, White House Spokesman, John Kirby, on the UN Security Council Resolution has this to say: “It’s a non-binding resolution, so there’s no impact at all on Israeli and Israel’s ability to continue to go after Hamas…as I said in my opening statement, it does not represent a change at all in our policy.”
How did he get out of Palestine to Iran with all the Western “sophisticated” military powerless? The wanted-by-all-means Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, on a visit to Iran a day after the UN Security Council called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, says: “Israel is experiencing an “unprecedented political isolation”.
Who is deceiving who? Can the same US who supplies munitions to Israel to attack Gaza suddenly become Hamas’ Messiah? Who are the Qatari and Egyptian negotiators working for? Can Hamas trust the humanitarian aid of the UN anditsscohortse parading? Why the US double standard: pretending as if it has a soft spot for Hamas while patting the UN on the back?
No surprise, it is history repeating itself. Badr was the foundation of the Muslims’ conviction that victory was from Allaah alone. It enlightened them that to become victorious is not about numbers, weapons,s, or warriors. It taught us that any Muslim Ummah that is distant from its Lord or refuses to abide by the dictates of its religion can hardly be victorious over its enemies.
It can only be by the power and mercy of Allaah, that a group of 313 ill-equipped men, who lacked the basic ethics of war, whose most members were elderly, who were fasting, could fight and became triumphant over a group of 1,000 that were well equipped, well fed, full of vibrant, agile, energetic and experienced fighters. It was a historic miracle that the weak defeated the strong. When Allaah saw the sincerity in the Muslim Army, He aided them with His angels and made their points of reference till eternity.
Just like in the case of Badr, Allaah adorned our Gaza brothers with all that matters, so much so that up till now, they remain undaunted even as they lose their properties and loved ones. Their slogan had been: It is either victory or martyrdom.
Since the main aim of Hamas is to attain Allaah’s pleasure whereas its intermediate aim is to establish Islaam, it doesn’t bother it whether or not people sympathize with it. Its popular lyrics have been: It is only required of us to play well our roles while it is Allaah’s to determine the results of our efforts.
Whether or not Israel will eventually achieve its aims for attacking Gaza, only time shall tell.
May Allaah forgive our ineptness, bless the resilient people of Gaza, show them His mercy as he did to our forerunners in Badr, and adorn the dead strugglers with the glorious throne of martyrdom.
Ishaqq Muhammad Jamiu writes from Osogbo. 17th Ramadaan 1445 (27th March 2024).
