Hundreds of Palestinians visited Gaza on Friday the first arms exhibition organized by the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls this territory.
Visitors were invited to take photos with weapons displayed by the al-Qassam Brigades which had issued a public invitation.
“The resistance is an image and a memory. Take souvenir photos with many weapons and arms industries made by al-Qassam”, mentioned the invitation of the armed group relayed on social networks and on posters in mosques.
On Friday, the weapons were exhibited in Gaza City and further exhibits are scheduled to take place on Saturday in northern and central Palestinian territory.
This is the first time that Hamas has allowed people to take pictures of its weaponry. It is generally forbidden to approach the military sites scattered in the Gaza Strip and to photograph them.
In the Square of the Unknown Soldier park west of Gaza City, the al-Qassam Brigades unveiled a collection of “locally made” missiles, as well as Russian-made Kornet-type missiles, rifles and anti-aircraft surface-to-air launchers, as well as a drone called “Shihab”, according to the group.
At the entrance to the exhibition, a large banner welcomed visitors, some of whom came with their families, noted an AFP journalist.
“I came with my family to take pictures with weapons and strengthen the spirit of resistance in our children,” Gaza resident Abu Mohammed Abu Chakian told AFP.
“We are proud of these industries carried out by the resistance of al-Qassam, which made these missiles and weapons,” he added.
The exhibition is “encouraging and means that the liberation of our lands is near”, said Chahada Al Dalou, a 38-year-old Gazan, whose children took photos in front of the missiles with their mobile phones.
For Bassam Darwish, 58, “We are here because we are proud of the resistance and we want to support it”.
The Gaza Strip, a cramped territory plagued by poverty and unemployment under Israeli blockade since Hamas took power in 2007 and home to 2.3 million Palestinians, has been the scene of several wars with Israel since 2008.
In May, Israel and Palestinian armed groups clashed with airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and rockets fired into Israeli soil.
In total, this violence claimed the lives of 34 Palestinians, including six military commanders of the Islamic Jihad (armed movement considered terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union), fighters from various Palestinian armed groups, and civilians, including children, and an Israeli woman.
01/07/2023 11:57:33 – Gaza (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
