the Palestinian Islamist movement recognizes that “errors may have occurred” in the October 7 attack

Hamas admitted on Sunday for the first time to “errors” that caused the deaths of civilians during its attack on Israel on October 7. This offensive triggered a war in the Gaza Strip where the human toll exceeds 25,000 deaths.

In the Middle East, while Monday January 22 marks the 108th day of war between Israel and Hamas, for the first time, the Islamist movement recognized on Sunday “errors” in a long text to justify the attack on October 7. Errors conceded by Hamas with the tip of their lips, or rather with the tip of their pen, in an unpublished 16-page press release, distributed both in Arabic and in English.

Titled “our narrative”which can be translated as “our story” Or “our version”. Hamas returns to the October 7 assault, which it calls the operation “Al Aqsa flood”. “A necessary stephe insists, facing Israeli plots against the Palestinians”. Classic rhetoric, but for the first time, the Islamist movement recognizes that “errors may have occurred”. Hamas denies having targeted civilians. “It happened accidentally.”, he writes. He even mentions “a moral commitment” For “avoid attacking civilians, particularly children, women and the elderly.” However, 1,140 Israelis were killed in the October 7 attack, the majority civilians, according to a count by Agence France Presse (AFP) based on official Israeli figures. Furthermore, numerous videos, sometimes broadcast by Hamas fighters themselves, show precisely unarmed Israelis being killed, and women, children and elderly people being kidnapped. It is precisely these images for which Hamas is trying to exonerate itself with this press release.

Diplomatic reasons above all

The explanation for this communication is not to be found in the fighting on the ground. The Israeli army focuses its operations on Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip. And obviously, this very slight mea culpa is not likely to modify the war objectives set by Benjamin Netanyahu, namely the destruction of Hamas and the return of the 132 hostages still presumed to be held. The explanation is therefore not military, but diplomatic. We are at a time when the political future of the Gaza Strip is being discussed.

The head of the Israeli government says he wants to maintain “security control” over this area. Which effectively prevents the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state. At the same time, the United States is putting pressure on Israel precisely to impose a plan that includes the creation of a Palestinian state. The European Union warns of the consequences of Israeli refusal. The head of Saudi diplomacy, this weekend, ruled out any normalization of relations with the Hebrew state, without the creation of a Palestinian state.

The diplomats are therefore preparing to enter the scene, after the fear and the fighting which until then paralyzed all initiative. This is why Hamas is trying to get its messages across. Moreover, from the first page, its press release addresses, I quote “to the free peoples of the world”. In other words, to public opinion. Particularly those from the countries of the South, who mostly disapprove of the Israeli response. South Africa has taken the matter to the International Court of Justice. Mexico and Chile are appealing to the International Criminal Court against the Israeli government. On the ground, the fighting is still raging, but we must therefore interpret this Hamas press release in the light of another battle: that of world public opinion and diplomatic balance of power.