Israel-Hamas war and religions By Dr. Anna M. Maćkowiak

The ongoing Israel-Hamas war is already one of the bloodiest and most difficult conflicts in the 56-year-long history of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. There are complex social, economic and political factors behind this unprecedented violence. It is not a religious war, but religious identities and affects have been playing an important role.

 

It all started on October 7, 2023, when Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian organization governing the occupied Gaza Strip, launched a large coordinated surprise attack on Israel that in two days brought the largest death toll in Israeli modern history in such a short period. Additionally, hostages were taken to Gaza. Israel responded to this act of terror with even more terror. Gaza is under near-constant bomb attacks that have killed at least 10,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, with around 40% of them being children (data from November 7, Gaza Ministry of Health).

 

Hamas called the attack “Operation al-Aqsa Flood”. Al-Aqsa mosque is in the middle of Jerusalem’s melting pot of religions, just by the Western Wall, in the space of conflicting conceptualization and claims: Haram al-Sharif or Temple Mount. Al-Aqsa is one of the holiest places in Islam, from where Muhammad is believed to ascend to heaven for his mystical journey. Islamist Palestinian fighters claimed to fight for the dignity of Al-Aqsa, which was subjected to repeated desacralizations and restrictions by the Israeli occupant. Jews have referred to the attack from October 7 “Simchat Torah massacre” because that was the day when they celebrated (“Simchat”) the sacred scriptures of Torah and concluded the annual cycle of public Torah readings at the end of the week-long Sukkot festival.

 

Both for Israelis and for Palestinians, national and religious identities are intertwined. The very concept of “Israel as a Jewish state” is deeply religious. Hamas is Palestinian and Islamist. To demonize it, Israelis have equated Hamas to ISIS with the viral hashtag #hamasisisis. This organization is religious, but it is far from the ultra-radical version of Islam of ISIS. Monica Marks explained thoroughly why Hamas is not ISIS (https://time.com/6329776/hamas-isis-gaza/).