Hamas Ramadan message: ‘Stabbing the soldiers of the occupation is worship that brings us closer to Allah’

Hamas said much the same thing some years ago, and Pamela Geller and I put the statements on advertisements about the meaning of jihad. Numerous establishment media outlets and “fact-checkers” of the quality of NewsGuard implied, or stated outright, that we had fabricated the quote. And now here is Hamas all these years later, saying it again.

“Hamas Calls To Increase Terror Attacks On Israelis During Ramadan, ‘The Month Of Jihad And Victories,'” MEMRI, March 17, 2025:

Hamas regards its struggle against Israel as a religious war,[1] and therefore ascribes importance to attacks on it especially during Ramadan, which it calls “the month of jihad and victories” and “the season of attacks.”[2] This year, as in previous years, the movement has published many inciting materials calling to increase the attacks on Israelis during this month. For example, a message posted on the movement’s Telegram channel on March 3, one of the first days of Ramadan, following a stabbing in Haifa in which an Israeli civilian was killed and four others were wounded,[3] stated: “On this blessed month, the month of victories and jihad, we call upon the masses of our people in the West Bank, in Jerusalem and in the occupied interior [i.e., inside  Israel] to escalate the confrontation with the enemy and fight it with every possible means. The resistance will continue until the land and the holy places are liberated, the occupation is removed and an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established.”[4]

Hamas also utilizes social media to spread incitement to terror on Ramadan,[5] while presenting it as “religious” and even “spiritual” action, especially during this month, which  “is not just a time of worship but also a juncture where faith meets jihad and where the true meaning of sacrifice becomes manifest.”[6]  

The incitement spread by Hamas includes practical advice on carrying out attacks, for instance how to recruit terrorists and organize them into secret cells, how to obtain weapons and engage in military training, and how to plan and execute the attack itself. A prominent platform for this incitement is the Hamas-affiliated Telegram channel Al-Mutarad (“Wanted”).

The Al-Mutarad Telegram channel provides “the heroes of the occupied West Bank” with practical advice on perpetrating terror attacks (T.me/westmutared, March 11, 2025)

This report reviews Hamas incitement calling for attacks on Israelis during Ramadan this year.

Hamas-Affiliated Telegram Channel Exhorts Palestinians To Wage Armed Jihad During Ramadan

Following a shooting near the Israeli settlement of Ariel and the Palestinian town on Salfit on March 12, 2025, the Al-Mutarad Telegram channel called on Palestinians in the West Bank to carry out more attacks of this sort: “This is a special call to every free and revolutionary [Palestinian] and everyone who possesses a weapon: Do not let another day go by without carrying out a blessed jihad operation to avenge the blood spilled in Gaza and in response to the occupation’s crimes in the West Bank. May you let Allah see your good deeds during this noble month.”[7]

A graphic posted on the channel, hashtagged “Salfit operation” and “Ramadan of ribat,”[8] shows a gunman shooting a rifle, and bears the message: “[On Ramadan,] the month of commandments and jihad, plan [your attack], select your target and use your weapon.[9]

A similar graphic bears the message “On [Ramadan], the month of the resistance fighters, direct your bullets at the occupiers,” and is accompanied by an excerpt from Hamas’ statement welcoming the shooting near Salfit. [10]

Hamas: On Ramadan, The Month Of Resistance, Stabbings Are Acts Of Worship “That Bring Us Closer To Allah”

A further series of graphics posted on the channel praised the March 3  stabbing in Haifa and urged similar attacks, describing this as a form of worship that is especially called for during Ramadan. A graphic posted on the day of the Haifa attack, captioned “Between Spiritualism and Jihad – The Ramadan of Resistance Has Appeared in Haifa,” was accompanied by the following message: “Today, on the morning of the third day of Ramadan, there was a heroic stabbing in the occupied city of Haifa, another show of sacrifice and bravery. A Palestinian resistance fighter ascended to heaven after managing to kill a settler and to seriously wound four others. This operation conveyed a firm message: that the resistance will not break, and that the blessed month of Ramadan is not just a time of worship but also a juncture where faith meets jihad and where the true meaning of sacrifice becomes manifest…”[11]

Another graphic hashtagged “Ramadan of resistance” bore the message: “Stabbing the soldiers of the occupation is worship that brings us closer to Allah.”[12]

Yet another said, “On [Ramadan], the month of light, the flame of resistance burns. A self-sacrificing resistance fighter stabs the occupiers with a knife.”[13]….