RAMALLAH – From the battle of al-Furqan in 2008, to the battle of "Shajil Stones" in 2012, to "Eaten Storm" in 2014, to "Sword of Jerusalem" in 2021, "Unity of Squares" in 2022, and finally "Al-Aqsa Flood", all are names of battles with Israel in defense and in less cases offensive.
"Al-Aqsa Flood" is a different battle from all previous battles in many aspects, where did the name come from? And what significance does it have? What are the circumstances under which the battle broke out?
They pushed them and ordered them to leave the place. Israeli soldiers assault Palestinian women at King Faisal Gate, one of the gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque
More: https://t.co/f3PUmRtq5R pic.twitter.com/BV04d46RfL
— Al Jazeera Quds (@Aljazeeraquds) October 8, 2023
Linguistic significance
Arabic dictionaries agree that the "flood" is "what was so much and great", while the term is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an when talking about the destruction of Noah's people, after their insistence on disbelief and stubbornness despite 950 of his call to them.
Returning to the battle of "Al-Aqsa flood" emanating from Gaza, the name has more than one connotation, whether it is using the term "flood" or adding Jerusalem to it, according to two analysts who spoke to Al Jazeera Net.
On the one hand, the occupation exaggerated its aggression without paying attention to the warnings addressed to it not to touch the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which brings together all the politically contradictory, and on the other hand, the battle carried surprises that it did not expect for the occupation, according to the speakers.
On Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas", Mohammed Deif, announced the start of a military operation against Israel called "Al-Aqsa Flood", and the launch of thousands of rockets towards it.
He pointed out that the operation "Al-Aqsa Flood" comes in light of "the ongoing Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, the occupation's denial of international laws, American and Western support and international silence.
He explained that the Qassam leadership "decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation, and the time when it is expressed without accountability is over," and Israel quickly announced hundreds of dead and wounded.
Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas' political bureau, later said, "We warned the world and the fascist Israeli government not to harm Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem, and we told them not to play with fire, and not to cross the red line, but they deafened their ears and blinded them."
He added that the resistance has confirmed information that the occupation will impose full sovereignty over the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and will continue aggression, settlements, arrests and siege.
What are the main points of engagement that erupted on the cover of today's #غزة?#عملية_طوفان_الأقصى #الأخبار pic.twitter.com/dBgkJ5lGA3
— Al Jazeera (@AJArabic) October 8, 2023
A title that links to the goal
Ibrahim Habib, a security affairs expert from Gaza, said that the name of the battle "is linked to the meaning of war and its main goal, which is Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the desecration and attempt to divide it temporally and spatially."
He added that the Palestinian resistance tried by all means to deter the Israelis from their actions to no avail, and therefore this battle was with this name and in a different way from previous responses.
The Palestinian analyst links this battle to the battle of the Sword of Jerusalem, "The Al-Aqsa flood was named after the revolutionary situation that was in 2021, which was also aimed at Al-Aqsa Mosque."
He pointed out that Al-Aqsa Mosque "is a collective cause for the national, Arab and humanitarian, as it is a successful name on the road to liberating Al-Aqsa and curbing the settlers and the Hebrew state towards it".
Here, he said, Hamas did not pay attention to the battle and Gaza or the siege and the pain suffered by the residents of the Gaza Strip, despite the importance of these issues.
"The issue now is the issue of al-Aqsa, on which no two in the national or Arab whole disagree, especially since there is an Arab and Islamic consensus to reject the injustice against it," he said.
Children killed by the Israeli Zionist aircraft today inside Gaza
, where are the hearts and consciences of those who talk about humanity and for what guilt do children #طوفان_الأقصى #طوفان_القدس #فلسطين_المحتلة pic.twitter.com/ZJQU4MeQvF killed?
— Anis Mansour (@anesmansory) October 8, 2023
Careful and cautious selection
Suleiman Bisharat, director of the Yabous Center for Studies in Ramallah, said choosing names is a difficult task in strategic battles "to take into account a range of environmental, religious, cultural, military, psychological and other factors and conditions".
He pointed out that Jerusalem has been strongly present in the military confrontations that have taken place in recent years for several considerations, "the first of which is the status of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa mainly, and this has a link to the religious dimension, the Palestinian identity and the Islamic identity of the city of Jerusalem."
He pointed out that the city and what is happening in it have acquired Arab, Islamic and regional attention, as well as its importance to the Christian world as well.
Choosing a title related to Jerusalem "creates internal motivation among members of the resistance and its military arms on the one hand, and in the popular incubator on the other, as al-Aqsa is the subject of Palestinian consensus despite the different political approaches and programmes", he said.
Bisharat sees the name as "a clear message to the occupation, which is committing violations against Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa that what is happening is in response to its actions and aggressions."
In the past few weeks, coinciding with the Jewish holidays, Al-Aqsa Mosque has been subjected to very serious violations by the occupation, its ministers and settlers, he said, in addition to attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque that aroused the feelings of Muslims not only in Gaza, but around the world.