Israel: which countries support Hamas or adopt a half-hearted reaction?

From support for Hamas to its strong condemnation, the world is divided on the fourth day of the conflict between the Jewish state and the Palestinian terrorist organization. On Saturday morning, October 7, Hamas attacked Israel, by land, sea and sky, creating an effect of total surprise. Armed fighters have kidnapped more than a hundred people, civilians and soldiers, whom they are still holding hostage. A massive kidnapping which was accompanied by killings carried out when they swept across the country. In response, Israel promised to wage merciless war.

Since the start of the conflict, a large number of countries have already “strongly condemned” this attack which has already left more than 900 dead on the Israeli side and more than 680 on the Palestinian side, according to local authorities.

Other states, on the contrary, welcomed the offensive and officially supported the terrorist organization: Iran, Algeria and Tunisia.

Some, finally, chose a third path by preferring to call for de-escalation and a “ceasefire”, without explicitly condemning the Hamas attack. Since the start of this conflict, a new map of international power relations has emerged, as highlighted by Le Grand continent.

Iran was the first country to show its support for Hamas. “Iran supports the legitimate defense of the Palestinian nation,” declared President Ebrahim Raïssi on Sunday, October 8, calling on “Muslim governments” to do the same. The country, which finances and supports Hamas, is even suspected of having helped the organization prepare its offensive against the Jewish state, according to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal. What the Islamic Republic has firmly denied. “The accusations linked to the role of Iran” in the Hamas offensive against Israel “are based on political motives,” said the spokesperson for Iranian diplomacy. Before adding that Tehran did not intervene “in the decision-making of other nations, including Palestine”.

Algeria has also taken a position by directly supporting Hamas and considering the Jewish state as solely responsible. The country insisted on the right of Palestinians to fight the “Zionist occupation” of Israel, which is part of a “policy of oppression and persecution imposed on the valiant Palestinian people”, we can read in a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Algeria follows with deep concern the escalation of barbaric Zionist attacks against the Gaza Strip, which have cost the lives of dozens of innocent children of the Palestinian people, who have fallen as martyrs.”

Tunisia also wished to denounce “a Zionist occupation” which has lasted “for decades” and which, according to it, is at the origin of the conflict. She thus expressed “total and unconditional support for the Palestinian people”.

Other states, on the contrary, refrained from strongly condemning Hamas, preferring to call for a ceasefire on both sides, and sometimes engaging in a difficult balancing act.

Egypt was, for its part, the first country to have normalized its relations with the Hebrew State, in 1979. It was thus concerned about the “serious consequences” of the escalation of violence, as of Saturday morning. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs even called for “maximum restraint in avoiding exposing civilians to greater danger.”

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, two countries which normalized their relations with Israel in 2020 through the Abraham Accords negotiated by the government of American President Donald Trump, for their part denounced the hostage-taking of Israeli civilians. The Emirates also called for intensifying diplomatic efforts to “avoid a wider regional confrontation”. While denouncing “violent attempts aimed at derailing ongoing regional efforts in favor of dialogue”.

In addition to these two Gulf countries, Morocco has also established diplomatic ties with Israel in recent years. These peaceful relations today place the Maghreb country in a delicate position. In a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rabat insisted on “its deep concern following the deterioration of the situation and the outbreak of military actions in the Gaza Strip and condemns the attacks against civilians wherever they are. ". The king therefore called for “an immediate end to all acts of violence and a return to appeasement, while avoiding all forms of escalation that could undermine the chances of peace in the region.”

Morocco will also chair an “extraordinary” meeting of the Arab League, in Cairo (Egypt), this Wednesday, October 11, to discuss “means of political action at the Arab and international level to put an end to Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip". The secretary general of this organization of Arab states had assured a little earlier that the League rejected violence “on both sides” and called for finding “a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.

If Saudi Arabia had also initiated talks with a view to a possible normalization of relations with Israel, once again under the aegis of the United States, this attack on Israel seems to have stopped the dynamic. The Gulf country is thus playing a balancing act: the Saudi Foreign Ministry has called for an “immediate end to violence between Israelis and Palestinians”. Before specifying: “We are following the unprecedented events between Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupying forces which have led to a high level of violence on several fronts.”

Turkey is also trying to maintain a balance. Because it does not directly support the offensive led by Hamas against Israel. She thus condemns the deaths of civilians while President Erdogan called on “all parties to act with restraint” and “refrain from impulsive actions which would increase tensions”.

On the Asian continent, China for its part did not wish to condemn the Hamas offensive on Sunday October 8 at the Security Council. She therefore did not align herself with Washington. Beijing, however, condemned “actions harming civilians” the following Monday. She said she was “deeply concerned” by the escalation of violence and opposed “any action likely to extend the conflict and compromise regional stability”.

Further north, Russia also remains ambiguous. If she called for de-escalation and “an immediate ceasefire”, she has until now refused to firmly condemn the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Kremlin is mainly using this conflict to try to reduce Western “support and attention” to the war in Ukraine. The Russians thus accuse the West of having neglected the conflicts in the Middle East in favor of its support for Ukraine. “Instead of actively working towards the Palestinian-Israeli settlement, these morons have interfered in our affairs and are providing neo-Nazis with aid on a large scale, pitting the two closely linked peoples against each other,” accused on X ( ex-Twitter) Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev.