Buoyed by Assad's ouster in Syria, Palestinians hope for end to Gaza war
Palestinians in Gaza are hoping the fall of Assad in Syria will lead to an end of the Israeli war and occupation.
DEIR EL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The news of the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule in Syria and his flight from the country brought joy to the Gaza Strip's residents, who have been enduring a bloody war with Israel for 14 months now. The fall of Assad raised hopes among Gazans that they too would find justice and freedom from the ongoing Israeli bombardments and occupation.
At dawn on Dec. 8, the Syrian opposition, led by the Islamic Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, took control of the Syrian capital Damascus, ending the civil war that lasted more than 13 years.
The Hamas militant group congratulated the Syrian people on becoming free of the Assad regime.
“We in the Hamas movement and our Palestinian people stand firmly with the Syrian people, and we affirm our respect for the Syrian people, their will, their independence and their political choices,” Hamas said in a statement on Dec. 8.
