Several branches of Al Qaeda have are attempting to exploit the Palestinian cause and use Tufan Al Aqsa to their advantage. Some have demonstrated full support for Hamas’s attack that served to highlight Israel’s security flaws, as well as attacking Western support in general, and specifically the US. While various statements avoided mentioning Hamas to circumvent ideological disagreement with Palestinian factions, focusing only on Ezzeldin Al-Qassam militias, and calling for violence by explanding to the West Bank, continuing Tufan Al Aqsa operations, and inciting citizens of neighboring countries to target Israeli and American interests in all Islamic countries, particularly in the US’s main allies, as well as in states that signed the Abraham Accords.

Hamas’s Tufan Al Aqsa targeted Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, and as events continue, statements by terrorist organizations, particularly those associated with Al Qaeda, have declared their support for Hamas, as evident in four major statements.

Al Qaeda’s outspoken announcement was met by silence from ISIS, who have not expressed any position on the attack, or the subsequent bombing by Israel of the Gaza Strip and its military ground operations. Only the weekly Al-Naba’  newspaper of October 12, 2023, made veiled references to the need for Muslim support, without addressing the events of Tufan Al Aqsa.

Al Qaeda’s response 

An overview of Al Qaeda’s statements and those issued by its associated branches and groups reference the following key points:

1. Rallied support across geographic centers: Statements by Al Qaeda and its associates were issued just two days after Hamas attacked Israeli settlements. The first statement was issued by the organization’s Yemeni branch, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula on 9 October, followed by a statement by Al-Shabaab in Somalia, published by accounts loyal to Al Qaeda. A joint statement by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Nasra al-Islam and Muslims was issued on 13 October. On the same day, Al-Qaeda accounts posted on social media a statement by the central leadership of Al-Qaeda, known as Qaeda Al Jihad – General Command.

2. Capitalizing on the situation in Palestine: Al-Qaeda’s main leadership and associated branches and groups attempt to employ the events of Tufan Al Aqsa, and the subsequent escalation between Palestinian factions and Israel to their advantage. Indeed, Al Qaeda has historically used the Palestinian cause to incite violence.

Al Qaeda’s former leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, who was assassinated by the United States in the Afghan capital, had issued a number of visuals addressing the Palestinian issue, known as the ‘deal of the century’, and initiated the Jerusalem Will Never Be Judaized campaign in the organization’s One Nation magazine.

In the four issues stated by Al Qaeda, it is clear that the organization seeks to continue employing the Palestinian cause. Indeed, the statement by the organisation’s general leadership asserted, ” that your mujahideen brothers all over the world stand with you [Hamas] in single file in the same trenches. We are with you [Hamas] and we testify to God that we will not let you down as long as our hearts are beating, until victory is achieved. Tufan Al-Aqsa will undoubtedly be the etched in the history of Islamic battles of our nation.”

In the same vein, Al-Shabaab’s statement concurred, “While your fellow mujahideen in East Africa bless the battle in the land of Palestine, we promise that we will not turn away from sacrificing in your name and cause … if there is a way to support you, we shall not delay nor hold back.”

3. Focusing on highlighting Israel’s fragility and vulnerability: The statements following Tufan Al Aqsa focused on expressing Israel’s “fragility and weakness”. A key point Al Qaeda’s statement by general command pointed to “the inevitable fraternal duty to pay tribute to the fighting spirit of the knights of Palestine. They exposed to the world the magnitude of Israeli and Western capabilities and Arab subjugation, and the fragility of their technology. One of the Allah’s wisdoms to the people of the Earth is to witness the fragility of the great Powers, primarily America and its ally Israel, and the scale of Israel’s strategic failures and those in all fields of intelligence, military, security and economic.”

The statement by Al-Shabaab elaborated that, “the West and its ally, whom they call Israel, would not have expected such a seismic strike of their illegitimate occupation, to which they have provided continued support and unlimited funding.” Similarly, the statement by Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch wrote that Tufan Al Aqsa “exposed to the world a full view the mirage of [Israel’s] army and intelligence “.

4. Criticizing international support for Israel, particularly by the United States: The four statements criticized Western and international support for Israel, especially America’s unshakeable support in the wake of Tufan Al Aqsa. Al Qaeda’s general leadership stated, “Global disbelievers stand with the Zionist enemy and support it with weapons, men, money and information. The children of our nation, the people of the one Qibla and people of the Book must unite in the face of the disbelievers…and commence jihad inside and outside Palestine “.

Al-Shabaab also attacked US and European support by stating, “We see how crusaders have come together in America and Europe, and in every land where the cross is raised and idols are worshipped, to support Jewish aggressors, and criminalize heroism … as is always their practice with Muslims in classifying their motives as synonymous with terrorism “.

5. Brushing over ideological disagreement with Hamas: The four statements did not mention Hamas or Islamic Jihad, while the focus was on highlighting “mujahideen and heroes” in the context of Operation Tufan al-Aqsa being regarded as a jihadist resistance act. While Al-Shabaab’s statement refrained from naming any Palestinian factions it also referred to the ” fellow mujahideen in beloved Palestine and congratulate them on this promising incursion… We salute all the heroes and militia..” The statement by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb referred to the Ezzeldin al Qassam’s militia brigades and the Al-Aqsa soldiers: “we our love and loyalty to our mujahideen brothers in Palestine, and in the Gaza Strip specifically, especially the Al-Aqsa soldiers and martyr Ezzeldin Al-Qassam’s militia.” Similarly, the organization’s Yemen branch noted: “We bless the blessed and successful victories in the Gaza Strip, and throughout the occupied territories, carried out by the battalions of martyr Ezzedine al-Qassam and their help from the Islamic factions.”

Here, Al-Qaeda, and its associated entities focused on highlighting Operation Tufan Al Aqsa, preferring not to name Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in order to avoid raising and invoking intellectual and ideological differences in the context of recent events.

Calls to Violence

Given the above-mentioned points in Al Qaeda statements across four of its affiliated entities, calls for action and advocacy for violence both inside and outside the region can be listed as follows :

1. The call for continued operations from Gaza: The statements called for continued confrontations in Palestine, specifically in the Gaza Strip. This is most evident in Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch stating that “ the mujahideen have begun the journey and must continue steadfast … beware of backing down for therin will lie your doom and your enemy’s victory…”

2. The call to ignite the West Bank: In an attempt to widen the confrontation between Palestinian factions and Israel, Al Qaeda’s branch in the Islamic Maghreb called for for violence in the West Bank, imploring “the lions of Islam in the West Bank…to set the West Bank on fire under the feet of Jews … and to stand behind their in the Gaza Strip The statement did not merely incite escalation in the West Bank against Israel, but called for confronting the Palestinian Authority, by calling to ” fight those protecting the Jews … and those who tether the West Bank under the guise of security and stability, because by God it is betrayal…”

3. The call for the supply of arms and aid to the cause: Some statements (particularly by Al-Shabaab) called to provide support to Palestinian factions in solidarity with the “Muslim Nation”. “Provide them with money and men… to the mujahideen in Palestine and the Levant and every place you are able to reach and lend a hand, so that our nation can get rid of the hegemony of the aggressors.”
4. Calling upon Palestine’s neighbors to fulfill their duty to the cause: The statements’ calls extended to Palestine’s neighboring states. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb called upon “Muslim states” to stand in solidarity with their “Muslim brothers in Palestine for between us and the liberation of the Holy Quds is the demolition of borders imposed by the Sykes Picot Agreement.” The statement by Al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch focused on extending their invitation to citizens of Egypt, the Levant, Lebanon and Jordan: “You are the closest to Palestine, and so the duty lies heavier on you…so stand up for your brothers there [in Palestine], and promise to support them… rid yourselves of Western rule and subjugation.”

5. A call for terrorist operations in Islamic states: The statement by Al Qaeda’s general command called upon its affiliated branches to make every effort to counter Western support for Israel, as well as calling for an expansion of the targeting of Israel and its agents in Islamic countries. It stated, “O the heroes of Islam across the land, target Israeli supporters who supply its ammunition…and undermine American military bases, airports, and embassies in our Islamic region, as well as battleships in our seas.”

6. Urging the boycott of Israel and its supporters: The general command statement called for the boycott of all things Western and Jewish in response to the events of Tufan Al Qasa.

7. Inciting violence in the states of the Abraham Accords: the statement by Al Qaeda’s general leadership explicitly incited violence in the states that signed the Abraham Accords, to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, as well as in states that are likely to normalize with Israel. The statement stated an explicit call for violence to target Israelis. “The children of Islam must be inspired by the mujahedeen to target Zionists on the streets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, Marrakech and Rabat in Morocco, Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, and Manama in Bahrain.”

Deliberate exploitation

The intensely worded and coordinated statements by Al Qaeda and its affiliates in response to Tufan Al Aqsa points to the explicit employment of recent events to further the interests of the terrorist organization, especially with the organization recognizing the centrality of the Palestinian cause in the Arab region and Islamic countries, thus hoping for the revival of its ideology in calling for the “the unification of efforts and fronts, and for all of us to liberate Al-Aqsa, by liberating the entire nation, as our enemies are taking hits in the Islamic Maghreb and East Africa.