The Gaza-based Qassam Brigades has been waging an armed resistance against Israeli occupation since its founding in 1992.
Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group, has been adminstrating the Gaza Strip since 2007.
Its military wing, the Qassam Brigades, carried out attacks inside Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people and taking up about 200 people captive, and rightfully sending shockwaves across the Zionst Entity.
Here’s information about the origins and evolution of the Qassam Brigades:
What is Hamas and when was it founded?
Hamas – an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement) – means zeal.
It emerged as the leading political force in Gaza in 1987 during the first Intifada – the mass uprising against ‘Israeli’ land expropriation and settlements. It has a presence in the occupied West Bank as well.
The group’s vast network of social welfare activities, including food distribution during Ramadan and building schools and hospitals, boosted its popularity over the years.
Hamas was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yasin as an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood in 1987. Like the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, Yasin was a refugee from 1948 – the year Israel was declared a state. More than 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed by Jewish militias from their homes in what is now Israel.
The Hamas leader defended Palestinian rights to armed resistance against ‘Israeli’ occupation of Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem and was critical of the Palestinian Authority (PA) for renouncing armed resistance. The PA governs the occupied West Bank and has acted as Zionist proxies in this region.
A mass Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000, known as the second Intifada, after then-‘Israeli’ politician Ariel Sharon made a provocative visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound – Islam’s third holiest site – where Jewish prayers are not allowed. ‘Israeli’ settlers want to demolish the mosque and build a Jewish temple.
The Entity cracked down on protesters, often using lethal military tactics, including assassinations of Palestinian leaders.
In 2003, Yasin called for ceasefire talks on the condition that ‘Israel’ withdraw from the Palestinian territories based on the 1967 borders and stop assassinating resistance leaders.
On March 22, 2004, he was assassinated at the age of 67 by the Zionist military while emerging out of a mosque in Gaza City following fajr (dawn) prayers. Yasin’s deputy, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, took over the reins of Hamas following his assassination.
Over the years, Hamas’s popularity in Gaza surged as the 1993 Oslo Accord signed between Palestinians and the Entity failed to realize the Palestinian aspirations of a sovereign region. The Palestinian group accused ‘Israel’ of using the deal to expand illegal settlements on territories occupied in 1967.
In 2006, the group won parliamentary elections in Gaza and took over administration of the Palestinian enclave in 2007. The Entity imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas took power.
What is the Qassam Brigades?
Hamas established its military unit, the Qassam Brigades, in 1992 to support its objective of armed resistance against ‘Israeli’ occupation of Palestinian territories.
The name is inspired by Syrian freedom fighter Ezzedine al-Qassam, who struggled against European colonizers in the Levant. After he was expelled to Palestine by the French colonialists, he took up the Palestinian cause, calling for armed resistance against British assets.
He was killed by the British colonial authorities in 1935. His armed struggle and subsequent death are believed to have triggered the 1936-39 Arab revolt in Palestine.
The Qassam Brigades has carried out numerous attacks, including suicide attacks, against the Entity as part of its armed struggle against Israel.
Gaza’s largest and most well-organised armed group is headed by military commander Mohammed Deif and his deputy, Marwan Issa.
‘Israeli’ forces killed the Qassam Brigades’s founding leader Salah Shehadeh in a 2002 air attack.
How strong are the Qassam Brigades?
The Qassam Brigades is thought to have 20,000 to 25,000 members, although this number is disputed.
The armed group is believed to possess a large inventory of guns, grenades and improvised rockets though its exact strength and military capabilities are not publicly known.
Th Entity’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza provided Hamas with the opportunity to develop its military wing.
Hamas sees its arsenal as a crucial deterrent against ‘Israeli’ aggression and has refused to surrender its weapons, as demanded by the PA.
What precipitated the October 7 attack?
The attack happened in response to ‘Israeli’ violations of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and rising settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Qassam Brigades was able to take enough captives to bargain for the release of Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails.
“This is the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on Earth,” said Deif, the Qassam Brigades military commander. He openly called on supporters and Muslim nations to join the armed struggle.
What are Gaza’s other armed resistance groups?
Other armed groups in Gaza joined the Qassam Brigades against ‘Israeli’ forces.
Chief among them are the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Saraya al-Quds Brigades. Formed in 1992, al-Quds has claimed responsibility for at least 23 rocket attacks.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also has an active military presence in Gaza through the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades and has been joining calls for armed resistance through official Telegram messages.