Hamas: Anticipated speech by Al-Qassam on Monday at 4 PM Jerusalem time

The official website of the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" announced that the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the movement, will broadcast an anticipated speech on Monday at 4 PM Jerusalem time, without revealing the content of the speech or the files it will address.

This announcement comes amid the continuation of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and amid ongoing debate regarding the fate of Abu Obeida, the military spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades, following Israeli claims of his assassination during an air raid targeting Gaza City at the end of August last year, claims that the movement has neither confirmed nor officially denied to date.

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz had previously stated that the army had succeeded in "eliminating" Abu Obeida, before the occupation army and the Israeli internal security agency (Shin Bet) issued a joint statement saying that the operation targeted Hudhaifa al-Kahlout, known as "Abu Obeida", based on "prior intelligence information about his location".

In contrast, the Al-Qassam Brigades have not issued any statement confirming or denying these claims, which has kept the fate of the military spokesperson in a circle of ambiguity, and added notable political, media, and military dimensions to the announcement of the anticipated speech.

Palestinian and regional circles are eagerly awaiting this speech, amid growing questions about the identity of the speaker, and whether the expected appearance will carry a surprise related to the fate of Abu Obeida, who has been absent from the media scene for a considerable period.

This development comes in the context of the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, which erupted following the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian factions carried out a broad attack on military sites and settlements adjacent to the Strip, resulting in the killing and capture of hundreds of Israeli soldiers, according to the factions' statements, which said the operation came as "a response to the suffocating siege imposed on Gaza for 18 years, and the escalation of violations against Palestinian holy sites and Al-Aqsa Mosque".

In a related context, the Al-Qassam Brigades had confirmed in previous statements that "the Nazi enemy, by assassinating our leaders and our people, and its daily and ongoing aggression against our people in various areas of Gaza, has crossed all red lines", considering that Israel "is disregarding the Trump plan", in reference to the understandings and political efforts proposed to contain the escalation.

The Al-Qassam Brigades called on US President Donald Trump and international mediators to "bear responsibility for these serious transgressions and this repeated recklessness against our people, our resistors, and our leaders", emphasizing that "our right to respond to the occupation's aggression is guaranteed, and we have the right to defend ourselves by all means".

Regarding violations of agreements, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that the occupation has killed about 391 Palestinians since last October, and injured 1,063 others, as part of the ongoing bombing and targeting operations.

Since October 8, 2023, the Israeli occupation has been waging a war of genocide on the Gaza Strip, lasting two years, resulting in more than 70,000 Palestinian martyrs, and over 171,000 injured, in addition to massive destruction affecting about 90% of the civilian infrastructure in the Strip, according to official and UN estimates.