The recent discourse surrounding the conflict in Gaza often grapples with what appears to be a fundamental contradiction in Hamas’s narrative: simultaneously claiming victory over Israel while alleging that its own people are facing genocide. From a rational, humanistic perspective, these claims are indeed mutually exclusive. One cannot be both the victor and the victim in the same struggle.
This self-sacrificial ethos, while horrific, at least involved the combatants themselves, as they chose and volunteered to be shahids (martyrs). The current conflict, however, reveals a stark and disturbing shift in Hamas’s concept of shahada (martyrdom) to one that is forced upon the Gazan population.
The prevailing understanding in many quarters is that Hamas cynically uses its civilians as human shields. While elements of cynicism may exist, this perspective falls short of grasping the profound and deliberate nature of the terrorist group’s current strategy. The killing of innocent Gazan civilians by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is not an unfortunate side effect for Hamas: It is, chillingly, a victory.
Each civilian casualty is a calculated achievement for Hamas and a strategic loss for Israel. This approach is a direct continuation and evolution of the October 7 attack, moving beyond mere cynical exploitation to a deeply embedded, conscious, and strategic weaponization of its own people’s suffering. Hamas has shifted from killing Israeli civilians to harm Israel, to killing Palestinian civilians to harm Israel.
The evolution of ‘Shahada’
Golda Meir once remarked: “We can perhaps forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for forcing us to kill their sons.” The fact that Hamas forces Israel to harm uninvolved civilians is not coincidental; it represents a new development in the concept of shahada.
Significantly, the current war in Gaza is not characterized by the presence of suicide bombers, or shahids, who sacrificed themselves with explosive belts and were Hamas’s primary weapon in the Second Intifada (2000-2005). This self-sacrificial ethos, while horrific, at least involved the combatants themselves. The current conflict, however, reveals a stark and disturbing shift in Hamas’s concept of shahada.
The fighting elite of Hamas no longer prioritize their own self-sacrifice. Instead, they meticulously protect their fighters, utilizing an extensive network of tunnels and underground fortifications designed first and foremost for their own survival. This represents a selfish Hamas jihad, where the lives of the leadership and combatants are paramount, while the general population is deemed expendable.
The new shahids are the Gazan masses themselves. Their lives are being offered as a central component of the struggle, with Hamas actively seeking to facilitate their deaths at the hands of Israel. This is achieved through a variety of cruel methods: fighting from within population centers, utilizing civilian infrastructure (such as hospitals and mosques), and even stealing humanitarian aid to induce starvation. The famine that has gripped parts of Gaza, with its devastating impact and visible suffering, is presented as Hamas’s greatest triumph.
Unlike casualties hidden beneath rubble, these victims are seen starving before cameras, broadcast globally, and attributed to what Hamas portrays as Israel’s horrific policies. This brutal terrorist policy, rooted in a complete dehumanization of their own people, is then meticulously crafted into powerful propaganda against Israel, which often fails to grasp how it is inadvertently playing into Hamas’s hands.
A flawed premise
The Israeli notion that the civilian population can be separated from Hamas doesn’t hold up in reality. Mass population movements, designed to create safe zones, are rendered ineffective because Hamas operatives move with the civilians, digging in beneath them with a dual purpose: protecting themselves while maximizing innocent casualties.
The starvation crisis, a deliberate consequence of Hamas’s actions, is arguably their most potent weapon. Its impact is immense, and it implicates Israel in the most brutal way, transforming victims into visible symbols of suffering for the entire world to witness.
This evolution in Hamas’s concept of shahada is both diabolical and highly sophisticated. It is a chilling continuation of Yahya Sinwar’s unrestrained line of thought. No entity in the international community will hold Hamas accountable for committing genocide in Gaza, precisely because Hamas is orchestrating it through Israel’s actions.
This is Hamas’s primary objective at this stage of the war; all its efforts are directed towards this goal by consistently seizing humanitarian aid shipments, fighting from food distribution areas, and creating chaos, anarchy, and looting – all in order to worsen shortages and increase hunger. It is the main weapon remaining to them, as Israel’s entanglement in this quagmire leads to an escalating and widespread impact on the Gazan population, potentially culminating in a creeping genocide.
Countering Hamas’s strategy
For Israel, allowing Hamas to succeed in this strategic endeavor would be catastrophic. The victory of this contemporary elitist Hamas jihad, which sacrifices a large part of society for its own survival, would be devastating not only for Gazans but also for Israel itself. The only beneficiary would be Hamas.
Therefore, understanding this perverse logic is crucial for developing a strategy that counters not just Hamas’s military capabilities, but also its insidious exploitation of human suffering for political gain. Israel must find a way to disrupt this cycle and prevent Hamas from achieving its “victory” through the destruction of its own people.
The writer is a PhD candidate in the Department of Middle East Studies at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a member of the researchers’ forum of the Elyashar Center at the Ben-Zvi Institute.