A senior Hamas official based outside Gaza has urged Palestinians in the West Bank to resume suicide bombings against Israel, according to a report by Israel National News.
Khaled Mashal, who leads Hamas' external operations, called on Wednesday for "residents of the West Bank" to "return to attacks of self-sacrifice for Allah," the news outlet reported. Speaking in Istanbul, Mashal said such attacks should begin "in their cities" and emphasized "the necessity to open all fronts against the occupation."
The Hamas leader's comments come as the war in Gaza approaches the 11-month mark. Mashal framed the ongoing conflict as part of what Hamas calls the "al-Aqsa Flood" – the group's name for its October 7 attacks on Israel that triggered the current war.
He asserted that Hamas "bears responsibility for the Palestinian people" and is working to halt what he termed "aggression against Gaza" while also seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to residents there.
Mashal also expressed support for Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza who Israeli forces have been pursuing. "The Hamas movement abroad puts its trust in the leader Yahya Sinwar, who the Zionist intelligence is chasing to harm and kill him," Mashal stated.
