(NewsNation) — An ISIS flag was found in the aftermath of Hamas launching one of the deadliest incursions into Israeli territory in 50 years, killing more than 1,000 and kidnapping scores more.
“[Killing families] was just one of Hamas’ countless acts of terror in a litany of brutality and inhumanity that, yes, brings to mind the worst of ISIS,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday in a joint news conference in Israel alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Babies slaughtered. Bodies desecrated. Young people burned alive. Women raped. Parents executed in front of their children, children in front of their parents.”
Netanyahu also made a direct connection between the two terrorist organizations, affirming, “Hamas is ISIS.”
This comes as Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed an ISIS flag was found in Kibbutz Sufa following one of Hamas’ attacks.
“Hamas brought ISIS flags to massacre Israeli children, women and men,” the IDF posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a photo of the ISIS flag.
But some experts would not go as far as saying that Hamas and ISIS are working together. “There are ideological differences between ISIS and Hamas,” Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, told NewsNation. “These two groups do not necessarily like one another.”
ISIS declared war on Hamas in 2018 — it views them as an apostate movement, not an Islamic movement. This is partly because Hamas participated in Palestinian democratic elections, which the Islamic State perceives as putting man-made law above God’s law. Another factor is Hamas’ cooperation with Egypt. Egypt has often played a role as mediator between Hamas and Israel, while ISIS has also been at war with the Egyptian government since at least 2013.
Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (“Islamic Resistance Movement”), is a spinoff of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organization with offshoots throughout the world that is dedicated to wiping out the Jewish state of Israel.
ISIS, which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, is a Salafi-jihadist organization that seeks to rebuild the Islamic caliphate and impose Shariah throughout the region
The U.S. Department of State has designated both Hamas and ISIS as terrorist organizations.
“It is clear that this is a Hamas-led operation. But at some point, once the gates opened, a lot of people entered Gaza to kill. There is a possibility that some ISIS members could have gotten in,” Dr. Vidino said.
Now, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is calling for supporters to flood the streets on Friday for a “Day of Jihad.”
“[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,” Meshaal said in an audio recording sent to Reuters.
Meshaal also urged people of neighboring countries in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt to join the fight with Palestinians.
“The calls are logical,” Dr. Vidino noted. “If [Hamas’] goal is regional conflict, getting their allies and general population mobilized is a big part of it.”