Hamas: October 7 led to world recognition of Palestinian state
Interviewer: "Did the Al-Aqsa Flood [October 7] contribute to the acceleration of recognition by Western countries of the Palestinian state?"
Hamas official Osama Hamdan: "I believe that two years ago, the world barely remembered the issue of Palestine. Everyone thought that it would end with solutions that would swallow the issue within a regional economic system... For the Palestinians, this would be the end of hope for restoring their rights and establishing their state. The Al-Aqsa Flood [October 7] brought the issue of Palestine back to the forefront and led to the world recognizing the Palestinians' rights.”
[Al-Jazeera TV Live, YouTube channel, Sept. 21, 2025]
Hamas' Oct. 7 war on Israel - Over 1,100 Israelis, including over 800 civilians, were murdered and over 5,000 wounded, in addition to approximately 251 who were abducted into the Gaza Strip (including 154 later released or liberated - among them 37 whose bodies were retrieved - and at least 41 who were killed on Oct. 7 whose bodies were abducted to Gaza), in a Hamas terror war that began when approximately 3,000 Hamas terrorists and thousands of Gazan civilians broke through Israel's security fence at the Gaza Strip border and launched a surprise attack, taking control of several Israeli towns and attacking a music festival on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, which fell on the Sabbath, Oct. 7, 2023. During the massacre the terrorists tortured, raped, shot, beheaded, and burned their victims alive, murdering entire families and leaving at least 21 children without parents. Hamas terrorists also fired at least 5,000 rockets at Israeli population centers.
In response, Israel launched Operation Iron Swords to counter the Hamas terror threat. Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon joined Hamas' terror war starting from the following day, attacking Israel from the north. Frequent rocket launches, drone attacks, and shootings continued from Lebanon throughout the war, causing Israel to respond with a ground invasion of southern Lebanon on Oct. 1, 2024, after taking out Hezbollah's leadership. In this conflict with Hezbollah over 40 Israeli civilians and over 70 Israeli soldiers were killed and nearly 200 Israelis were wounded. As a result of the attacks from Gaza and Lebanon, roughly 200,000 Israeli residents of the north and south were internally displaced during the war.
A ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal began on Nov. 24, 2023, in which Israel agreed to release 150 terrorist prisoners, pause drone surveillance in the Gaza Strip, and allow movement between the northern and southern Gaza Strip, in return for 50 Israeli female and child hostages held by Hamas. The deal was subsequently extended with additional releases, until Hamas violated the agreement and resumed attacking on Dec. 1, 2023.
