Marketing Terrorism

Khalil al-Hayya Elected to Chair Hamas political bureau – Insights and Reactions

Khalil al-Hayya is the new chairman of Hamas after defeating Khaled Mashaal; Hamas declared that all members of the movement and its institutions stood behind al-Hayya, while Iran and the "resistance axis" praised his election as "a proof of the victory of the resistance"; Al-Hayya, a native of Gaza City, joined Hamas when it was established in 1987 and was chairman of the movement's faction in the Palestinian National Council. He had been Yahya al-Sinwar's deputy in the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip since 2017 and, following al-Sinwar's elimination, became Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip; Al-Hayya was a member of the Hamas delegations which conducted indirect negotiations with Israel over hostage deals and has headed the negotiating team since the outbreak of the war following the October 7, 2023 terrorist invasion and massacre. He also survived several attempts to kill him and four of his sons died in Israeli strikes; Al-Hayya is expected to continue al-Sinwar's ideological line, especially "resistance" and close relations with Iran. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 7-14, 2026)

Hamas announced the dissolution of its government emergency committee in preparation for transferring administrative responsibilities to the national committee for the administration of Gaza. However, it continued to enforce physical control by executing alleged collaborators and displaying flags at the funerals of eliminated terrorist operatives. Members of the Board of Peace said they would judge actions rather than declarations; IDF forces continued operating within the Yellow Line and other areas of the Gaza Strip, destroying terrorist infrastructure and eliminating more than ten terrorists who were involved in advancing attacks or restoring Hamas' military capabilities. Many of them had participated in the atrocities of the October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre and held hostages. Hamas' spokesman in the Gaza Strip reportedly survived an attempted targeted killing; his bodyguard was killed; A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo to continue talks with the mediators on the remaining bones of contention, including weapons, the future of public-sector employees in the Gaza Strip and the IDF withdrawal; A senior UN official condemned Hamas after armed men attacked a food distribution point and a warehouse belonging to an international aid organization; An international pro-Palestinian campaign is calling for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, who is being detained in Israel because of his status as a senior Hamas officer and his involvement in terrorist activity carried out at the hospital; Hamas has reportedly transferred a significant portion of its "organizational activity" to Turkey for "security reasons" and to reduce American and Israeli pressure on Qatar to expel the movement's leadership. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism – June 2026

During June 2026, the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah continued until Israel's decision to cease fire on June 20; The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip remained in effect, as the IDF continued eliminating terrorist operatives, most of whom had been involved in the atrocities of the October 7, 2023 invasion and massacre; targeted killings of terrorist operatives continued. Israeli security forces carried out extensive counterterrorism operations in Judea and Samaria; The Houthis and Iran simultaneously attacked Israel with missiles; IDF forces clashed with armed operatives in south Syria. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (June 30-July 7, 2026)

Hamas announced the dissolution of its government emergency committee in preparation for transferring administrative responsibilities to the national committee for the administration of Gaza. However, it continued to enforce physical control by executing alleged collaborators and displaying flags at the funerals of eliminated terrorist operatives. Members of the Board of Peace said they would judge actions rather than declarations; IDF forces continued operations within the Yellow Line area and other parts of the Gaza Strip, destroying terrorist facilities and assets and eliminating Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist operatives who posed a threat to the forces, many of whom participated in the atrocities of the October 7, 2023 invasion and massacre and who had held Israeli hostages; Hamas claimed the objective of Israel's statements about the movement's military buildup was to justify the continuation of the strikes; Hamas and the other terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip submitted their response to the proposed amendments to the roadmap for implementing the ceasefire agreement, which included agreement to the concentration, collection and storage of weapons instead of disarmament, removal of references to the dismantling of infrastructure, including tunnels, and postponement of discussion on the issue of small arms; Hamas protested the position of the Board of Peace and the United States, according to which UNRWA would have no role in the "new Gaza"; Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad sent delegations to the funeral of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei. Read more...

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 19-26, 2026)

IDF forces continued activity in the Yellow Line and other areas in the Gaza Strip, attacked weapons depots and eliminated terrorists who endangered the forces, including those involved in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre. Hamas condemned the Israeli attacks on police forces, claiming they "violated" the ceasefire and were an attempt to create chaos; The representative of the Board of Peace, Nikolay Mladenov, warned that continued Israeli control over 60% of the Strip and the Hamas refusal to disarm would prevent the reconstruction of the Strip and the creation of a political horizon, and presented a 15-point framework for implementing the American peace plan. Hamas accused Mladenov of distorting the facts and continued opposing the demand for disarmament; Hundreds of activists from the Global Resilience Flotilla to the Gaza Strip were deported from Israel. Hamas condemned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir's visit to the detainees; Voters in the elections for the Hamas leadership cast blank ballots for the first time, apparently to protest the candidates or the intention to appoint a temporary head of the political bureau; The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations withdrew his candidacy for the position of vice president of the General Assembly after pressure from the American administration. Read more...

The training program of the Hamas al-Shuja’iya Battalion during a ceasefire with Israel, according to a document brought back from the Gaza Strip

A document brought back from the Gaza Strip by the IDF showed that the Hamas military wing had exploited the January-March 2025 ceasefire to train new operatives in preparation for a possible resumption of the war. It detailed training held between February 17 and March 1, 2025 for 121 new recruits who would then be integrated into the al-Shuja'iya Battalion; According to the document, the training lasted only seven days and its schedule was carefully planned so that the entire process could be completed before the target date set for the end of the ceasefire; Given that the training took place during the ceasefire and the trainees were supposed to be integrated immediately into the al-Shuja'iya Battalion, the program included lessons learned from Operations al-Aqsa Flood, the name Hamas gave to the Gaza Strip War; Prospective operatives acquired field skills and were certified in the use of various weapons, including those used by the Israeli forces, and were trained in defense tactics to counter UAVs, first aid in the field and combat documentation. They were also given lectures with religious content and were required to swear fealty to the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades; Although Hamas was damaged and suffered significant losses during the war, its military wing apparently still operated with an organizational and operational infrastructure that enabled it to function as a terrorist organization in every respect. In Amit Institute assessment, Hamas used tactical pauses not only for regrouping and rest, but as a critical window for accelerated force-building and the insertion of fresh forces immediately upon the renewal of the fighting. Hamas, by virtue of its ability to learn lessons, did not allow its training to stagnate and incorporated updated operational lessons out of necessity to cope with the IDF's tactical advantages in the field. The document revealed that Hamas' training mechanism remained institutionalized, functioning and capable of carrying out complex and multi-branch training under constraints of schedules and security and operational limitations. Read more...

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Marketing Terrorism

Terrorist organizations around the world have successfully exploited the media revolution of the past decade. They use state-of-the-art communications technologies to market terrorism to large target audiences around the world, disseminate their threats, promote their activities and recruit sympathizers and supporters. By marketing terrorism, they try to shape public opinion and influence the global political and media agenda.

One of the tools used extensively for marketing terrorism is the Internet. The Internet is an ideal means for marketing terrorism: it is decentralized, it cannot be controlled or restricted, it is not censored, and all those who wish to do so have access to it. From the perspective of terrorist organizations, their special structure makes communication via the Internet even more important and useful. The loose and fluid network of squads, units and sub-groups, which is characteristic of modern terrorist organizations, makes the Internet an ideal and essential tool for marketing terrorism and for communication between and within terrorist groups.

The use of the Internet for marketing terrorism, especially social networks, enables organizations to market terrorism and its messages without censorship restrictions, using the freedom of expression law, bypassing geographical barriers and evading the difficulties posed by various governments. Marketing terrorism through the Internet makes it possible to achieve several goals, including: to provide an explanation and justification for terrorist acts; to collect and transmit information; to empower the organization’s capabilities and shape its image; to recruit and train operatives and more.

Global jihad organizations, Hezbollah, and Hamas are salient examples of terrorist organizations that have had the wisdom to take advantage of the media revolution for terrorism marketing purposes. These organizations make extensive use of the media for terrorism marketing purposes in addition to terrorist activity on the ground.