That Abu Obeida dude. One of the most mysterious and most high ranking members of Hamas. He always appears masked in his videos and very few people know his real identity. And for good reason, because Israel has a long tradition of mercilessly assassinating all Palestinians who rise to any prominence in any field.

You know, the 7th of December will not only live on in infamy, to quote Franklin D. Roosevelt, because it’s the day imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbour in 1941, but it’s also the day Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City along with his brother, sister and her four children in 2023.  Just one example of a senseless murder that invigorated the pro-Palestinian movement all over the world.

Abu Obaida’s first appearance was in 2006, when he announced the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. This soldier was later swapped for 1,026 Palestinian prisoners. A resounding success that probably made the implementation of the Hannibal directive on October 7th a lot more attractive to the Israeli leadership.

His use of the name “Abu Obeida” could be a reference to Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, symbolizing valor and leadership in Islamic history.

In his videos he offers context to the military operations of Hamas and often taunts Israel. The phony chest thumbing propaganda the IDF puts out is so silly and ineffective that he will never run out of ammunition when it comes to that. He has a clever sense of humor.

Obeida may be the one who launched the Diaper Army as one of the many disdainful nicknames of the so called IDF. He’s also stated that the main aim of the October 7th raid was the smashing of the Israeli Gaza division. Those are the American, British, French, German, I mean, Israeli, boys and girls infamous for shooting peaceful protesters during the 2018/2019 March of Return manifestations. His statements are often backed up with footage of Palestinian fighters striking at IDF targets.

He’s also quite the wedding crasher as festivities and sometimes even football matches are paused so people can listen in.

He is probably a child of the 80s, so you can be certain that he must have often heard the stories about the barbaric Israel backed killings in the Palestinian refugee camps, Sabra and Shatilla, in Lebanon in 1982. It’s also clear that some Israelis used the very real events of Sabra and Shatilla as inspiration for Israwood productions horror stories on October 7th. All loss of human life is absolutely tragic, but for some reason quite a few Israelis, backed by the media, had to spread perverse lies to try and throw oil on the fire. These fabrications were then repeated by top American politicians and diplomats and never retracted even after they were disproven.

It’s also clear from statements he’s made in 2005 that his family was forcefully driven off by the Israeli ethnic cleansing gangs in 1948. Rare is the individual who commits so fanatically to resistance without his family suffering grave injustices.

From his eloquence it’s clear Abu Obeida is an educated man. It’s thought he holds a master degree in relgious studies, having graduated from Gaza’s Islamic University in 2013 and that he was preparing to get a PHD some years ago.

He’s not just critical of Israel in his broadcasts, but also of Arab leaders who don’t lift a finger to aid the oppressed Palestinians, even though their citizens are often very sympathetic to their Palestinian brothers and sisters.

The fact that he has been able to evade arguably the world’s most experienced assassins for two decades is proof that he is quite adept at strategy.

Israel and the US claim his real name is Hudayfa Samir Abdallah al-Kahlout, and also released one picture of the man, but none of this has ever been confirmed and these statements haven’t helped in assassinating him at all. His supposed real name was revealed by Israeli spokesperson Avichay Adreaee.

It’s also rumored that his home in Jabalia has already been bombed three times, but this is also just speculation.

He is of course a very controversial figure whose acts are questionable and require further study and scrutiny, but his staunch defiance, his cleverly maintained mysterious halo, his determination and the certainty that he and his family, like other Palestinians have suffered much at the hands of the Israeli occupiers, have made him a symbol of what a small guerilla movement can accomplish in the face of a military juggernaught that has the unconditional backing of the world’s only superpower.

A cunning opponent to reckon with for sure.

Hoping to have added some value to your day,

All the best,

William, breaker of numbness