22-05-2025
Prior To Washington D.C. Murder Of Israeli Embassy Staffers At Jewish Event, Hamas Had Called For Attacks On Israeli, American Targets Worldwide
Just hours after Elias Rodriguez, from Chicago, shot and killed a young couple, Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, outside a Jewish event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. on the night of May 21, 2025, a Hamas-affiliated X account hastened, on May 22, 2025, to label the murder an "heroic act" and to praise the shooter.
This attack did not occur in a vacuum; just a week ago, on May 15, 2025, Sami Abu Zuhri, head of Hamas's political department abroad, had explicitly called for attacks on Israeli interests worldwide. It was not the first time; previously, he had on several occasions incited attacks against Israeli and American targets around the globe, calling on anyone with a weapon to act and "spare no IED [improvised explosive device], bullet, knife, or stone." Other Hamas officials, as well as Hamas supporters and Hamas-affiliated media outlets, likewise incited "jihad operations" against Israeli, American, and Western targets, and some even threatened to carry out such attacks.
This report reviews Hamas's praise of the May 21 murder, as well as recent calls by Abu Zuhri and other Hamas officials for attacks against Israeli and American targets:
Hamas Praises Murderer Of Two Members Of Israeli Embassy Staff In Washington
A few hours after the murder of the two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, the Telegram account of the Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency posted a photo of suspect Elias Rodriguez, writing: "[Soar] high like an eagle."[1]
Praise for shooter Elias Rodriguez (Source: May 22, 2025)
Expressing similar sentiments, the X account of the Gaza Now website – Gaza Now was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as a "key financial facilitator involved in fundraising for Hamas" in March 2024[2] – also praised Rodriguez. One post referred to him as "a resistance fighter," and stated: "In a moment of courage, he decided to raise his voice to the world and to bravely confront the murderers. He fired, killed one of the Israeli clerks [sic], stood and issued his challenge while restrained, and in so doing raised the flag of justice against the oppressor..."[3]
Another post on the Gaza Now X account compared Rodriguez to slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, with photos of them side by side and stating: "Even though he isn't a Muslim, he has an active conscience, like the conscience of Yahya Sinwar. He carried out his brave act in the heart of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, to avenge the children of Gaza. He killed two Zionist terrorists and then sat down resolutely and crossed his legs. He proved that conscience has no religion, but [takes] a stand."[4]
Rodriguez and Sinwar (Source: May 22, 2025)
Senior Hamas Official Sami Abu Zuhri Called For Terrorist Attacks On Israeli And American Interests Across The World
Earlier in May 2025, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri had called for terrorist attacks against Israeli and American interests across the world. On May 15, 2025, he told the Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency: "Today we once again tell our ummah [Islamic nation] that the time has come for everyone to take action against the occupation and its interests in every place, after the failure of all the gambles regarding the possibility of stopping the massacres by political means.
"Do not abandon Gaza. Slumber or inactivity are not options. The entire ummah will be sinning if it doesn't act quickly to save Gaza and to avenge it, everywhere."[5]
Threat by senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri: "The time has come for everyone to take action against the occupation and its interests everywhere." (Source: May 15, 2025)
Abu Zuhri: "Spare No IED, Bullet, Knife, Or Stone"
On March 30, 2025, the Palestinian Quds News Network published a post on its X account citing a statement by Abu Zuhri calling for attacks on Israeli and American interests, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for the "voluntary relocation" of Gazans.
According to the post, Abu Zuhri stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent statements about Israel's intention to implement Trump's plan reveal an "American-Zionist scheme linked to the displacement project." During a government meeting that morning, Netanyahu had declared that Israel would "enable the implementation of Trump's plan."
Abu Zuhri declared: "In the face of this diabolical plan, which combines massacres and starvation, everyone who can bear arms anywhere in the world must act. Spare no IED, bullet, knife, or stone. Let everyone break their silence. We are all sinners if the interests of America and the Zionist occupation remain safe in light of the slaughter and starvation of Gaza."[6]
Abu Zuhri: "Spare no IED, bullet, knife, or stone" (Source: March 30, 2025)
Abu Zuhri: The Trump Administration Is An Accomplice To The Aggression In Gaza And Must Bear Responsibility For It; Attack The Interests Of The Occupation And Its Allies Worldwide
Also on March 18, 2025, Abu Zuhri told the Hamas-affiliated Shehab News Agency: "The objectives of the massacres by the occupation in Gaza are to demolish the ceasefire agreement, to attempt to impose [on Hamas] an agreement of surrender, and to write it in the blood of Gaza. Netanyahu's goals will not be actualized, and he must understand that his aggression constitutes a death sentence for the Zionist captives [i.e. the hostages]...
"The statements from the White House that there were U.S.-Israel consultations prior to the escalation in Gaza make the Trump administration an accomplice to the aggression. Its hands are stained with the blood of the children of Gaza, and it must bear responsibility for the consequences of this aggression.
"All the elements of the ummah are being tested, and history will have mercy on no one. Whoever is capable of taking action against the interests of the occupation and its allies across the world and does not do so is indeed a sinner."[7]
For Years, Senior Hamas Officials And Hamas Affiliates Incited Terror Attacks Across The World
In recent years, senior Hamas officials as well as Hamas affiliates have incited terror attacks on Israeli and American targets worldwide.
Senior Hamas Official Khalil Al-Hayya Calls On Arabs And Muslims To Besiege Israeli And American Embassies
On a May 16, 2024 show on Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV, Hamas political bureau member Khalil Al-Hayya called on Arabs and Muslims to besiege Israeli and American embassies in Arab countries, in order to let them know that the "Arab nations do not accept any injustice against the Palestinians."
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
Hamas-Affiliated Palestine Scholars Association Calls For Global 'Jihad Operations' Against Israeli, U.S. Interests
On March 18, 2025, the Palestine Scholars Association (PSA), which headed by Hamas members, posted a statement on its website accusing Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza and urging Muslims to carry out "jihad operations" against Israeli and American interests worldwide. It also exhorted the Arab and Islamic regimes to assist the Palestinians militarily and called for the revival of mass demonstrations everywhere to press for an end to the war.[8]
Sami Abu Zuhri: If The West And The U.S. Continue Their Support For Israel, Our Nation Will View Them As An Enemy; This Conflict Might Go Beyond The Borders Of Palestine
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri warned in a January 5, 2024 broadcast on Qatar's Al-Jazeera that the West and the U.S. must reconsider their position regarding Israel. Saying that if they do not stop their support for Israel, Hamas will consider them enemies, just like the "Zionist occupation," he added that the conflict will continue as long as there is occupation. If the U.S. continues the same policy, he emphasized, "this conflict might go beyond the borders of Palestine and might expand in scope."
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
Sami Abu Zuhri Calls For Violence Against American And British Interests Worldwide
On a December 5, 2023 show on Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV, Abu Zuhri called for acts of violence worldwide against the interests of the U.S., U.K., and other countries that he said support Israel. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken, he said, was as much an "enemy" as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that he would pay the price just as Netanyahu would. He added that that the Americans and British must pay a price for the blood of the women and children in Gaza, and must know that Gaza is not alone.[9]
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
Following Malaysia Murder Of Palestinian Engineer Fadi Al-Batsh, Hamas Supporters Discuss Acting Against Israel Abroad
On April 21, 2018, Palestinian engineer Dr. Fadi Al-Batsh was killed in a drive-by motorcycle shooting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, he was an expert in electrical engineering and rocket manufacture who had been living in Malaysia for a decade after being sent there by Hamas to complete his studies. During a condolence visit to the family's home in the city of Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip, then-Hamas political bureau head Isma'il Haniyed called on the Malaysian government to investigate the murder, noting that doing so would "reveal the involvement of the Mossad organization in the assassination." He said that those behind the killing "will certainly yet pay the price," and added, "The battle with Israel has moved outside the occupied lands."
Haniyeh's statement sparked a debate within Hamas on the question of whether it too should act against Israel outside Palestine. The pro-Hizbullah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported on April 23, 2018 that associates of Hamas were seriously considering "moving some of the battle against the occupation outside of occupied Palestine." However, the London daily Rai Al-Yawm, which is owned by Palestinian journalist Abd Al-Bari 'Atwan, assessed that most Hamas officials still opposed anti-Israel activity abroad.
The argument within Hamas was reflected in articles published following Al-Batsh's killing on Hamas-affiliated websites. Some writers wrote that Hamas should respond to Israel's alleged assassinations of its scientists, by harming Israeli interests and individuals abroad, since this was the best possible way to stop Israel from carrying out these killings. Others warned that Hamas activity against Israel abroad would likely boomerang, harming both Hamas and its relations with the countries in which it operates. (For more on the discussion, see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5371, Following The Murder In Malaysia Of Palestinian Engineer Fadi Al-Batsh, Hamas Supporters Debate Whether To Act Against Israel Abroad,"May 1, 2018.)
Article In Hamas Mouthpiece Calls For Expanding Arena Of Fighting With Israel To Include Its Interests Abroad
In a January 21, 2018 article in the Hamas mouthpiece Al-Risala, 'Imad Al-'Afana, journalist and former secretary general of Hamas's faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), called on the movement to expand its target bank and its arena of operations in its fight with Israel. He wrote that the balance of deterrence that had long existed between Israel and Hamas had collapsed because Hamas had stopped responding with sufficient force to offensive action by Israel, such as the bombing of Hamas tunnels and facilities and the attempted targeted killing of its operatives. In order to restore the balance of deterrence, he added, Hamas must change its mode of operation, which had become predictable, and start to respond to Israeli attacks in unexpected ways, including by attacking Israeli targets abroad and by "moving the conflict into the enemy's territory and the into heart of its bases, settlements and airports – not only on the Gaza border but in the Zionist rear." (See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 7317, Article In Hamas Mouthpiece Calls To Expand Arena Of Fighting With Israel To Include Its Interests Abroad, February 5, 2018.)
Senior Hamas Official: The Resistance Is Entitled To Attack Israel's Embassies, Interests, And Officials Worldwide – And The Interests Of Its Allies, Headed By The U.S.
In an article published July 16, 2013 on the Hamas-affiliated website, Hamas Refugee Affairs Department head Dr Issam Adwan argued that Hamas had the right to attack Israeli embassies and interests as well as senior Israeli officials anywhere in the world. He added that the resistance was also entitled to harm the interests of Israel's allies, headed by the U.S.
In his article, Adwan called for opening Hamas liaison offices in the Arab and Islamic countries "in order to recruit support, material and moral assistance, and even manpower assistance." Hinting at the Palestinian Authority, he stated that the resistance "has the right to smite with an iron fist any hand that seeks to rip apart the [Palestinian] people's unity and [cause it to] abandon its rights." (See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5371, Senior Hamas Official: The Resistance Is Entitled To Attack Israel's Embassies, Interests, And Officials Worldwide – And The Interests Of Its Allies, Headed By The U.S., July 19, 2013.)
