YONI BEN MENACHEM -- The October 7, 2023 attack precipitated the greatest Nakba in seven decades, returning Palestinians to a cycle of destruction, displacement and a profound loss of confidence in their leadership.
After the signing of the “Gaza Agreement” in Sharm El-Sheikh and the entry into force of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, senior Hamas figures rushed to declare “victory,” crediting themselves with a series of gains in the war.
Yet across the Arab world and inside Gaza, the mood is the opposite: the widespread sense is that Israel defeated Hamas.
From Hamas’s perspective, merely surviving as an organization in the Strip—despite the devastating blows the IDF inflicted on its military wing—is framed as a “victory,” achieved thanks to what Arabic calls sumud (steadfastness).