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Israel Escalates Strikes on Hamas ‘Political’ Wing
A drone view shows buildings lying in ruins, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, Jan. 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Al-Basos
JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces conducted extensive air and artillery strikes across northern, central and southern Gaza overnight on Thursday, killing Abd al-Latif Qanoua, a senior Hamas spokesman, slain in Jabalia in a strike on his tent.
The attacks are part of a broader campaign to systematically eliminate key figures in both Hamas’s military-terrorist wing, and its “political” leadership.
This, combined with Israel preventing aid trucks from entering Gaza—supplies that were stolen by Hamas and used to bolster its regime—signals an Israeli strategic pivot from strictly targeting “military” wing operatives to dismantling the governing infrastructure sustaining Hamas’s rule.
In recent days, Israel has killed several senior officials of Hamas’s Political Bureau. These included Ismail Barhoum, who managed the organization’s finances and directed funds toward terror planning and weapons procurement.
He was killed in a joint IDF and Shin Bet operation at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Just before his death, Barhoum had succeeded Issam Da’alis, Hamas’s “prime minister” in Gaza, who was killed in mid-March. Salah Bardawil, head of Hamas’s Planning and Development Office in southern Gaza, was also targeted and killed by Israel.
The goals of the war
Meir Ben-Shabbat, head of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, who is former Israeli national security adviser and ex-head of the National Security Council, told JNS on Wednesday that “one of the goals of the war, as determined by the political echelon, is the destruction of Hamas’s governing capabilities. This goal cannot be achieved without targeting the functionaries who run Hamas’s administration in Gaza. This is a necessary step.”
He added, “The achievements in recent days are impressive, but the pace must be increased and the blow to Hamas intensified.”
Ben-Shabbat emphasized the importance of Israel controlling the flow of aid “after we have seen that this aid is being used by Hamas both to rearm for continued war and to bolster its governance over the population.”
According to Ben-Shabbat, “To understand why, one must revisit the footage and images from October 7, the monstrous atrocities, and the participation of elderly and youths in these acts. The celebrations in Gaza over the abduction of elderly people, women and children. The horrific stories of what our hostages endured—59 of whom are still held in Gaza.”
In the first part of the war, Israel’s approach to Hamas’s “political” infrastructure. Ben-Shabbat argued that Israel at that time “acted under different conditions—under constraints imposed by the Biden administration and operational limitations that forced it to prioritize its overall tasks. Today, those constraints no longer exist and the operational space is far broader.”
The eyes of the population
Lt. Col. (res.) Amit Yagur, former deputy head of the Palestinian arena at the IDF Planning Branch and a former naval intelligence officer, told JNS on Wednesday that Hamas’s true strategic center of gravity lies not in its rockets or gunmen but in its civilian governance and perceived legitimacy among Gazan civilians.
“Hamas know that in a military confrontation with Israel, their ammunition depots and all their military capabilities will be damaged—that’s something they expect. What they aim to preserve is their organizational survival and legitimacy in the eyes of the population,” Yagur said.
“The military capacity is relatively easy to rebuild. You get hit, you start to restore the military capability. You start restoring workshops using aid coming in, you manufacture more rockets again, you arm the youths. But the civilian governing capacity is much harder to rebuild for Hamas once it’s been damaged.”
Yagur explained that Hamas’s legitimacy rests on its ability to govern and deliver aid. “The population says to Hamas, ‘you stayed as the ruler, okay, rebuild. Bring back our homes and our lives.’”
When Hamas can’t do that, it begins to lose legitimacy, argued Yagur, which is why Hamas is desperate for caravans and aid infrastructure—so it can demonstrate that it’s rebuilding.
Yagur criticized Israel’s past focus on purely military targets, stating that eighty to 90% of everything the IDF had attacked in Gaza was focused on military targets like terror operatives, rockets, weapons. “That’s what I call speaking in the military language only. It’s a mistake,” he said, since Hamas’s “main goal is to stay in power.”
The previous military echelon was highly opposed to any activity by Israel in Gaza’s civilian sphere, he noted. “There were a few attempts to cement civilian clans that would take control from Hamas in the middle of 2024. These efforts failed,” he recalled. “Today, everyone understands how important it is to seize control of the distribution of humanitarian aid.”
According to Yagur, the recent focus on Hamas’s political wing marked a necessary correction. “For the first time, we’re seeing the large-scale targeting of the people who run the civilian system in the Gaza Strip. These are Hamas figures. This damages their ability to recover, to govern and interface with the population.”
Protests against Hamas
The shift in approach was quickly followed in Gaza by mounting and unprecedented civilian Palestinian protests against Hamas.
Between March 25 and 27, protests erupted in at least seven locations across Gaza, including Beit Lahia, Jabalia Camp, Shejaiya in Gaza City, Zeitoun, Nuseirat, Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah. These followed a major demonstration on March 25 in Beit Lahia, where hundreds of civilians waved white flags and called for an end to the war.
That protest, reportedly organized in part by Fatah affiliates and the “Bidna Na’ish” (“We want to live”) initiative, marked the first large-scale civilian protest since Israel closed Gaza’s border crossings.
Protesters chanted, “Hamas out, Hamas out,” and called out journalists, including from Al Jazeera, demanding media coverage of the events.
Videos circulated showing notable elders from Beit Lahia speaking openly and uncovered against Hamas, indicating bread down of a previous fear barrier.
“These are respected community figures coming out with uncovered faces. That’s not children or women saying, ‘save me’—these are known figures going directly against Hamas. It shows the fear barrier might be cracking a little,” said Yagur.
Human shields
Meanwhile, Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, issued fresh evacuation warnings on Thursday to Gaza residents in Zeitoun, Tel al-Hawa, the Old City of Gaza, Sheikh Ajlin and other neighborhoods, advising them to evacuate ahead of intensified Israeli strikes on Hamas, which continues to systematically use civilians as human shields.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz directly addressed Gaza’s population on Wednesday, warning that more areas will be evacuated, and called on civilians to rise against Hamas and pressure for the release of Israeli hostages. “This is the only way to stop the war,” he said.
Ben-Shabbat outlined what he believed should be Israel’s long-term goal for Gaza: “In my view, President Trump’s vision outlines the scenario that Israel should strive for regarding Gaza: voluntary emigration, enabling first of all the departure of those who wish to live elsewhere. This is an opportunity for historic, fundamental change.”
“Israel must obtain all of the goals it set for this war: return of the hostages, destruction of Hamas, removal of the threat from Gaza. The minimal security goal that it must achieve is demilitarization.
“In the end state of the war in Gaza, Israel will have full security control in this area, and there will be no other fighting force, means, or capabilities that will threaten Israel and its people. Hamas will not only not rule, it will not be a significant force in this area and lose its military, governing, and organizational infrastructure.”
Yagur added that Hamas must be stripped of its interface with the population. “We need to take away its connection to the population—and that means controlling humanitarian aid distribution.” He argued this could be done through American security contractors under IDF protection, or directly by IDF units in designated humanitarian zones.
Such civilian control efforts are more damaging to Hamas than bombs alone, he said. “These are the things that disrupt them most.”
The post Israel Escalates Strikes on Hamas ‘Political’ Wing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Scottish First Minister Faces Backlash Over Anti-Israel Stance as Jewish Community Warns of Rising Antisemitism
Palestinian supporters protesting outside a Scotland vs. Israel match at the a UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland on May 31, 2024. Photo: Alex Todd/Sportpix/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Scottish First Minister John Swinney is facing fierce backlash after nearly 3,000 signatories accused his government’s anti-Israel stance of fueling antisemitism and endangering Jewish communities across Scotland.
Last week, Swinney announced that his government would halt new public contracts with arms companies supplying Israel, saying that “in the face of genocide, there can be no business as usual.”
In response to this latest anti-Israel move, the organization Scotland Against Antisemitism (SAA) sent Swinney a letter urging him to retract his “inflammatory language.”
“For the Scottish government to endorse this modern-day blood libel will not save a single innocent life in Gaza, but it will embolden those who now use the language of genocide to justify the harassment and intimidation of Jews here in Scotland,” the letter reads
The group also urged Swinney to engage with Scotland’s Jewish community and implement concrete measures to protect their safety amid a rising wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes and antisemitism.
“As you are no doubt aware, our small and increasingly vulnerable community is living in an extraordinarily hostile environment, one that has only worsened since Oct. 7,” SAA wrote in the letter, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel in 2023.
According to the group, Jews comprise less than one percent of Scotland’s population, yet they were the victims of roughly 17 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes last year.
“That figure alone should be a matter of national shame,” SAA wrote.
Read our full letter to @scotgov and @ScotGovFM and sign here; https://t.co/J7KsOmaidJ pic.twitter.com/1oMpToxN0U
— Scotland Against Antisemitism (@SAA_scotland) September 4, 2025
Swinney’s announcement came after the Scottish Parliament voted to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this month, joining a growing number of Western countries supporting such an initiative.
“Scotland stands proudly in solidarity with the people of Gaza in the face of genocide,” Swinney wrote in a post on X after the motion was passed.
I am proud that @ScotParl has overwhelmingly voted to call for the recognition of the State of Palestine.
Scotland stands proudly in solidarity with the people of Gaza in the face of genocide. pic.twitter.com/UyLXpitPWk
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) September 3, 2025
The government’s increasingly hostile stance toward Israel has drawn sharp criticism from members of Scotland’s Jewish community.
On Monday, a Scottish government spokesperson confirmed that Swinney met with members of the Jewish community following their request for assurances about their safety in Scotland.
“As the first minister made clear in setting out his statement to Parliament, the Scottish government deeply values our relationship with Scotland’s Jewish community and it is vital that they feel safe and supported,” the statement read. “There can be no place for antisemitism or hatred of any kind in Scotland.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), a UK-based charity, has released new research conducted by YouGov which showed that those characterized as embracing “entrenched” antisemitic attitudes in the UK had grown to 21 percent, the highest figure on record, showing a jump from 16 percent in 2024 and 11 percent in 2021.
The poll found that nearly half of Britons (45 percent) said Israel treats Palestinians like the Nazis treated Jews, up from 33 percent last year, and with 60 percent of young adults agreeing.
A striking 20 percent of young voters said that Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state, while 31 percent disagreed. Similarly, 19 percent of British young adults justified Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities.
The data came after CAA earlier this year released a separate report revealing the extent of antisemitism experienced by the Jewish community across the UK.
In the past two years, half of Jews have considered leaving Britain due to rising antisemitism following the Oct. 7 atrocities, a figure that climbs to 67 percent among those aged 18 to 24.
According to the poll, 58 percent of British Jews choose to conceal their Judaism to avoid antisemitism, and 43 percent say they do not feel welcome in the UK.
In Scotland, almost 20 percent of Jews said they would not report an antisemitic hate crime to law enforcement, with almost two-thirds doubting that such acts would be prosecuted.
More than 80 percent of British Jews believe authorities are not doing enough to combat antisemitism. Three-quarters also voiced dissatisfaction with the way police have handled anti-Israel protests.
According to additional data provided by the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism and an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In one of the latest instances of antisemitism, two Jewish comedians were dropped from a major arts and culture festival in Edinburgh after staff cited “safety concerns” over their pro-Israel views.
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Spain Follows Slovenia in Threatening to Withdraw From 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel Participates
Yuval Raphael from Israel with the title “New Day Will Rise” on stage at the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in the Arena St. Jakobshalle. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect
Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun has joined Slovenia’s national broadcaster in threatening to withdraw their country’s participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) if Israel is not banned because of its military actions in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Urtasun appeared Monday morning on the Spanish news show “La hora de La 1 on TVE” and reminded viewers that in May, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the ESC, to ban Israel from the international competition. Urtasun said on Monday that if Israel participated in the ESC “and we fail to expel it, measures will have to be taken,” as cited by the Spanish daily newspaper La Vanguardia. He said he believes Israel’s participation in the contest cannot be normalized and tolerated.
Urtasun, who is also a spokesperson for Spain’s left-wing alliance Sumar, additionally denied that it is antisemitic to denounce the so-called “genocide” taking place in Gaza and described Israel as a “genocidal government.” He also said he feels pride over Israel’s decision to ban Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz and Minister of Childhood and Youth Sira Rego from entering the Jewish state because of their antisemitic statements and criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the sanctions early Monday against the Spanish politicians because of their “anti-Israel and antisemitic” comments and “support for terrorism and violence against Israelis.” Spain has condemned the move in a released statement. Sanchez is a longtime critic of Israel, and last year called for Israel to be excluded from all international cultural events, including the Eurovision, because of its military campaign targeting Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Spain’s national broadcaster RTVE will ultimately make the final decision regarding Spain’s withdrawal from the ESC.
Meanwhile, the director of Slovenia’s national broadcaster, RTVSLO, has announced that it will likely withdraw from the contest next year if Israel participates. Ksenija Horvat recently said that RTVE has reached out to EBU several times with concerns pertaining to Israel’s participation in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest and next year’s competition.
RTVSLO called for the expulsion of Israel from Eurovision 2025 and Horvat sent a letter to members of the EBU’s executive board that RTVSLO shared online in May about Israel’s participation in next year’s competition.
“We sent some very specific questions and proposals, just like last year,” Horvat said recently. “Last year we were more or less ignored. This year is basically the same. So, we realistically think that we will not be able to go to the Eurovision Song Contest. If we won’t be able to reach an appropriate system of participation, we will not be there.”
Even the winner of last year’s Eurovision, Austrian singer JJ, has said that he wants Israel to be banned from the Eurovision next year. The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in May 2026 at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.
The EBU recently extended its penalty-free withdrawal deadline for broadcasters to mid-December, not long after the EBU’s General Assembly will convene and likely discuss Israel’s participation in next year’s competition.
Ahead of last year’s Eurovision, more than 70 former contestants, as well as public broadcasters around the world, called for the EBU to ban Israel from the competition. When the contest ended, and Israel finished in second place, Spain’s RTVE demanded an audit of the voting system after Israel was a favorite in the popular vote. The director of the competition and EBU’s executive supervisor of the ESC both denied accusations that voting was rigged in any way in favor of Israel.
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Jewish Voice for Peace Members Form New, More Radical Anti-Zionist Student Group
Pro-Hamas protesters led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) demonstrate outside the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 14, 2024. Photo: Derek French via Reuters Connect
Some college students affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an anti-Israel organization that has helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, have announced that they are forming a new group, citing dissatisfaction with what they described as JVP’s insufficient efforts to “dismantle Zionism.”
The students announced on social media on Sunday the formation of the Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front, an organization which they claim will take a more adversarial stance toward Zionism on campus.
“We work to dismantle Zionism in its entirety by confronting Zionist institutions on campus, to struggle for divestment, and to pursue the criminalization of Zionism as a white supremacist weapon of war,” the Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front wrote on Instagram.
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A post shared by Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front (AJSF) (@antizionistjewishstudentfront)
The group characterized the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel as a form of legitimate “resistance” and declared the Israeli military response as a “horrific expansion of the Zionist project” and a supposed “genocide.”
“In one month, we also mark two years of the strongest sustained resistance by the might of Palestinian journalists, doctors, men, women, and children, refusing to abandon national liberation and continuously defying vicious onslaught, backed by American dollars,” the group continued.
The Anti-Zionist Jewish Student Front claimed that it adheres to the Thawabit, a Palestinian nationalist framework that includes the so-called “right of return” for millions of Palestinians and their descendants to Israel, claims to Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital, and explicit support for so-called “resistance” against the Jewish state. Palestinian leaders and activists have described the Thawabit as a set of principles aimed at eliminating Israel and establishing a Palestinian state in its place.
Anti-Israel protests and antisemitism on university campuses exploded in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, amid the ensuing war in Gaza. During this period, JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a leader of the anti-Israel movement.
Despite JVP’s name, a poll released earlier this year found that the vast majority of American Jews believe that anti-Zionist movements and anti-Israel university protests are antisemitic. The findings — part of a survey commissioned by The Jewish Majority, a nonprofit founded by a researcher whose aim is to monitor and accurately report Jewish opinion on the most consequential issues affecting the community — also showed that Jews across the US overwhelmingly oppose the views and tactics of JVP.
Meanwhile, StandWithUs (SWU), an organization which promotes a mission of “supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism,” released a report in January examining how the farl-eft JVP organization “promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories” and even partners with terrorist organizations to achieve its “primary goal” of “dismantling the State of Israel.”
According to the report, JVP weaponizes the plight of Palestinians to advance an “extremist” agenda which promotes the destruction of Israel and whitewashes terrorism, receiving money from organizations that have ties to Middle Eastern countries such as Iran.
JVP, which has repeatedly defended the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, argued in a recently resurfaced 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians.
Critics of the organization often point out that many JVP chapters do not have a single person of Jewish faith. The organization does not require a Jewish person to found a chapter and has even helped orchestrate anti-Israel demonstrations in front of synagogues.