The deadly delusions of Hamas

Two years have passed since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre—the barbaric and murderous assault by Hamas, who slaughtered 1,200 innocent Israelis and kidnapped more than 250 hostages. Yet the terrorists of Hamas remain masters of lies and propaganda. In the smoldering ruins of Gaza—where more than 70% of homes and 80% of schools lie in rubble—they proclaim a grotesque “victory” in their war against Israel. This delusion, born of Islamist ideology and rooted in Islamic dogma, is not merely a denial of reality but a wicked deception that has inflicted unimaginable suffering on both Palestinians and Israelis. The Oct. 7 attack laid bare Hamas’s true nature, revealing the evil force behind Gaza’s devastation.

Hamas’s leaders have spun a web of propaganda, proclaiming triumph despite Gaza’s collapse.

Senior official Ghazi Hamad, in a November 2023 interview on LBC TV, boasted, “October 7 was a full victory for us,” claiming it exposed Israel’s vulnerabilities. Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s political leader until his death in July 2024, declared a few months before his death that the attack broke the myth of Israel’s invincibility. Abu Obaida, the spokesman of the terrorist faction of Hamas al-Qassam, bragged about “humiliating Israel” by holding hostages. Qatar-based Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya celebrated the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by calling it “glorious,” as it “shattered the illusions the enemy had created for itself.”

These claims are not just false—they are delusional.

Gaza is a wasteland: 1.9 million people displaced, 90% of industrial sites obliterated, and famine looming. Hamas’s military is decimated—50%–70% of fighters killed or wounded, and key leaders like Yahya Sinwar and his brother are gone. Their tunnel network, once a strategic asset, is largely destroyed. Yet Hamas clings to a narrative of divine triumph, a lie so audacious it can only be understood through Islamist ideology.

Without lies, Islamic propaganda dies.

Hamas’s victory claims are not mere bravado; they are rooted in an Islamist worldview that uses Islamic teachings to justify evil. The group’s 1988 Charter, a chilling manifesto, declares Palestine an Islamic “Waqf” (endowment) to be reclaimed through jihad until Judgment Day. It cites a religious statement attributed to Muhammad that vilifies Jews: “The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews).” This anti-Semitic venom, framing Jews as eternal enemies, fuels Hamas’s propaganda that any attack on Israel is a divine mandate, regardless of the cost.

This ideology elevates Muslims as divinely ordained victors—a supremacist disposition rooted in Islamic dogma. Hamas relies on Islamic texts to frame their struggle as cosmic, where martyrdom and resistance trump material failure. They pride themselves on loving death more than life and claim that Gaza’s destruction is a legitimate “sacrifice” for divine glory, deceiving Muslims into believing that ruin is triumph. Hamas’s propaganda about victory stems from a theology of jihad, where death is rebranded as victory and a destroyed Gaza is painted as paradise.

But many can clearly see through this façade of Hamas’s lies. The real legacy of Hamas is Gaza’s ruin, where 80% of farmland is destroyed and with15% of children suffering malnutrition. The terrorists sowed death and reaped destruction—and dare to call it victory. Gaza is uninhabitable, with 60% of water systems non-functional—thanks to Hamas’ wickedly stubborn leadership. Still, Hamas’s leadership is gone, its soldiers defeated, and its infrastructure annihilated. Hamas’s fantasy of victory is broadcast against the backdrop of global condemnation for their horrendous Oct. 7 atrocities, with no tactical goal of their wicked scheme achieved.

They lost territory, their tunnels were destroyed, and the blockade remains in place. They succeeded only in collapsing Gaza’s health system, intensifying suffering, and turning what used to be Gaza into a wasteland. They alienated potential supporters and tainted the Palestinian cause with terrorism and brutality. Now, in a desperate attempt to maintain legitimacy amid utter failure, they promote lies wrapped in warped theological fantasies.

The terrorists catastrophically miscalculated, believing Israel would falter. Israel’s campaign was a direct response to Hamas’s barbarity, which galvanized Israeli resolve and largely eroded global sympathy for Palestinians. The deliberate targeting of civilians—families butchered, women raped, babies burned—unleashed a horror that shocked the world. This was no noble resistance; it was an act of evil, condemned by Amnesty International as a war crime. Hamas’s miscalculation, believing Israel would waver, invited a devastating response.

Hamas’s Islamist disposition is not just misguided—it is ugly and evil. Their lies, cloaked in religious rhetoric, mock the sanctity of truth. Their anti-Semitic dogma, drawn from a literal reading and application of Islamic texts, fuels an anti-Jewish hatred that justifies slaughter. Their propaganda glorifies death—labeling it martyrdom—while Gaza’s children starve. Unlike Christ’s call to love and truth, Hamas’s ideology thrives on deception and death, elevating its cause above human life, using people only as shields for imagined religious victories.

Hamas’s leaders may shout “victory,” but the ruins of Gaza scream their failure. Their Oct. 7 massacre was not a triumph, but a grave failure—one that has condemned their people to suffering and their cause to infamy. We must pray for peace, for justice, and for the end of Hamas and its lies.