Raul Pintilie
@rpintilie.bsky.social
@lunduniversity Middle East | Lebanon-Palestine-Israel | Non-state Armed Groups | Diplomacy | Foreign Affairs
https://open.substack.com/pub/mideastpolitics
📍 Malmö, Sweden
https://open.substack.com/pub/mideastpolitics
📍 Malmö, Sweden
My latest on the latest public execution conducted by Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip and the danger of eliminating from the picture the organization's political leadership.
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
The Danger of Silencing Hamas’s Political Voice
Why Excluding the Organization's Political Leadership Could Empower Its Hardliners?
open.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 12:06 AM
My latest on the latest public execution conducted by Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza Strip and the danger of eliminating from the picture the organization's political leadership.
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
A ceasfire agreement doesn't necessarily mean the end of the conflict. New enemies may emerge in the absence of the main enemy. In the eventuality that the ceasefire holds and the agreement proceeds, Hamas will face new challenges to its influence in Gaza
mideastpolitics.substack.com/p/hamas-mili...
mideastpolitics.substack.com/p/hamas-mili...
Hamas, Militias, and the Future of Gaza's Leadership
Hamas Faces a New Battle as Militias Fight to Reshape Gaza's Political Landscape
mideastpolitics.substack.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:15 AM
A ceasfire agreement doesn't necessarily mean the end of the conflict. New enemies may emerge in the absence of the main enemy. In the eventuality that the ceasefire holds and the agreement proceeds, Hamas will face new challenges to its influence in Gaza
mideastpolitics.substack.com/p/hamas-mili...
mideastpolitics.substack.com/p/hamas-mili...
Israel and Hamas officially agreed on the first phase of Donald Trump's peace plan, following a round of negotiations hosted by Egypt in Sharm al-Sheikh. It is arguably the easiest stage. Beyond it, there are numerous thorny issues. My quick take 👇🏽
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
Ceasefire Signed, Future Unwritten
Israel and Hamas Agree on the First Phase of Donald Trump's Peace Plan
open.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Israel and Hamas officially agreed on the first phase of Donald Trump's peace plan, following a round of negotiations hosted by Egypt in Sharm al-Sheikh. It is arguably the easiest stage. Beyond it, there are numerous thorny issues. My quick take 👇🏽
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
My latest on where we are two years later and the importance of looking at the current situation beyond numbers if we want to understand something from this tragedy
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
October 7, Two Years Later
What We Miss When We Only Count the Dead?
open.substack.com
October 8, 2025 at 11:56 AM
My latest on where we are two years later and the importance of looking at the current situation beyond numbers if we want to understand something from this tragedy
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
My take on Trump's Gaza plan, Hamas's reaction and the future of this initiative
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
Hamas Nods, Israel Scoffs, and Trump Celebrates
Is Donald Trump's Gaza Plan Just Another Initiative Doomed to Fail?
open.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:21 AM
My take on Trump's Gaza plan, Hamas's reaction and the future of this initiative
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
open.substack.com/pub/mideastp...
The level of dehumanization reached an absolutely unimaginable level. Wanna make it worse? Establish a company, employ people that have no idea about the needs in Gaza, and bypass UN agencies operating there since October 7. And when hungry people overrun the centers, just downplay it.
t.ly/JjKeM
t.ly/JjKeM
Gazans overrun Strip’s new aid center; operator says distribution has resumed
IDF confirms it fired shots into air, not at center itself; US-backed aid group says centers have given out 8,000 food boxes; UN says mechanism far from reaching aid targets
t.ly
May 27, 2025 at 11:42 PM
The level of dehumanization reached an absolutely unimaginable level. Wanna make it worse? Establish a company, employ people that have no idea about the needs in Gaza, and bypass UN agencies operating there since October 7. And when hungry people overrun the centers, just downplay it.
t.ly/JjKeM
t.ly/JjKeM
“This (Hezbollah’s election performance) really matters. It shows they still represent the great majority of Shias and underlines the reality that any attempt by other Lebanese to disarm them by force would risk being seen as a move against the community and jeopardise civil peace.”
t.ly/aQIiP
t.ly/aQIiP
t.ly
May 25, 2025 at 11:42 PM
“This (Hezbollah’s election performance) really matters. It shows they still represent the great majority of Shias and underlines the reality that any attempt by other Lebanese to disarm them by force would risk being seen as a move against the community and jeopardise civil peace.”
t.ly/aQIiP
t.ly/aQIiP
“Seven days ago, civil defence and PRCS ambulances arrived at the scene,” the head of Ocha in Palestine, Jonathan Whittall, said in a statement. “One by one, [the paramedics and civil defense workers] were hit, they were struck. Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave.
t.ly/V6LtP
t.ly/V6LtP
Israel killed 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers one by one, says UN
Workers on a mission to help colleagues were buried in mass grave in southern Gaza, says humanitarian office
t.ly
March 31, 2025 at 10:40 PM
“Seven days ago, civil defence and PRCS ambulances arrived at the scene,” the head of Ocha in Palestine, Jonathan Whittall, said in a statement. “One by one, [the paramedics and civil defense workers] were hit, they were struck. Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave.
t.ly/V6LtP
t.ly/V6LtP
"The south Beirut airstrike was heard across the Lebanese capital & produced a large column of black smoke. It followed an evacuation order by Israel's military for the neighbourhood, and three smaller targeted drone strikes on the building intended as warning shots"
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Israel warns it will hit Hezbollah building in south Beirut
Israel warned on Friday it would attack a building belonging to Hezbollah in a south Beirut suburb and ordered residents to evacuate, its first such move since a November ceasefire that has been seriously disrupted over the past week.
www.reuters.com
March 28, 2025 at 3:16 PM
"The south Beirut airstrike was heard across the Lebanese capital & produced a large column of black smoke. It followed an evacuation order by Israel's military for the neighbourhood, and three smaller targeted drone strikes on the building intended as warning shots"
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV reports that Israel killed senior political bureau member Ismail Barhoum in tonight's airstrikes that hit the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. According to the channel, Barhoum was receiving treatment inside the facility when Israel hit it.
March 23, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV reports that Israel killed senior political bureau member Ismail Barhoum in tonight's airstrikes that hit the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. According to the channel, Barhoum was receiving treatment inside the facility when Israel hit it.
Today in "the Middle East BS proposals to end the war in Gaza" we have an alleged Jordanian initiative to exile 3,000 Hamas members. Doesn't say where. Doesn't say how. Who on Earth can believe that any regime in the region will just happy-go-lucky accept them in their countries?
t.ly/uHAmP
t.ly/uHAmP
Exclusive: Jordan proposes exiling 3,000 Hamas members from Gaza to end Israel's war
The plan includes disarming Hamas and transferring control of the territory to the Palestinian Authority
t.ly
March 23, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Today in "the Middle East BS proposals to end the war in Gaza" we have an alleged Jordanian initiative to exile 3,000 Hamas members. Doesn't say where. Doesn't say how. Who on Earth can believe that any regime in the region will just happy-go-lucky accept them in their countries?
t.ly/uHAmP
t.ly/uHAmP
"Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement called on its rivals Hamas on Saturday to relinquish power in order to safeguard the 'existence' of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, battered by Israeli strikes."
www.newarab.com/news/fatah-u...
www.newarab.com/news/fatah-u...
Fatah urges Hamas to cede power to safeguard ’Palestinian lives’
Fatah said Hamas must step aside from governing and fully recognise that the battle ahead ’will lead to the end of Palestinians’ existence’.
www.newarab.com
March 23, 2025 at 12:14 AM
"Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement called on its rivals Hamas on Saturday to relinquish power in order to safeguard the 'existence' of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, battered by Israeli strikes."
www.newarab.com/news/fatah-u...
www.newarab.com/news/fatah-u...
You know there are low chances for a civil war when the prime minister has to make a statement that there will be no civil war.
www.ynetnews.com/article/hjgs...
www.ynetnews.com/article/hjgs...
Netanyahu reveals letter, suggests Shin Bet head conspired with attorney general against him
PM doubles down on claim AG’s decision to initiate criminal investigation into so-called ‘Qatar-Gate’ affair was a calculated move to prevent him from removing Ronen Bar
www.ynetnews.com
March 22, 2025 at 10:17 PM
You know there are low chances for a civil war when the prime minister has to make a statement that there will be no civil war.
www.ynetnews.com/article/hjgs...
www.ynetnews.com/article/hjgs...
A delegation of Hamas led by the Khalil al-Hayya, the acting leader of the group's political bureau and head of Hamas in Gaza, met today with the Turkish FM Hakan Fidan in Ankara. Hamas expressed willingness to commit to a ceasefire agreement while Turkey affirmed its support for Palestine.
March 22, 2025 at 9:51 PM
A delegation of Hamas led by the Khalil al-Hayya, the acting leader of the group's political bureau and head of Hamas in Gaza, met today with the Turkish FM Hakan Fidan in Ankara. Hamas expressed willingness to commit to a ceasefire agreement while Turkey affirmed its support for Palestine.
Reports emerging of a new series of US strikes in Yemen targeting al-Hodeida and Marib provinces. Meanwhile, Lebanon's Health Ministry raised the number of killed in today's Israeli airstrikes in the south to 7. At the same time, Israel bombs areas in Gaza's Khan Younis and Rafah.
March 22, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Reports emerging of a new series of US strikes in Yemen targeting al-Hodeida and Marib provinces. Meanwhile, Lebanon's Health Ministry raised the number of killed in today's Israeli airstrikes in the south to 7. At the same time, Israel bombs areas in Gaza's Khan Younis and Rafah.
"Israel carried out a second wave of airstrikes in Lebanon on Saturday evening, including in the southern city of Tyre and the Bekaa region, in response to three rockets that were fired by unknown individuals from Lebanon at north Israel."
t.ly/c_9Wn
t.ly/c_9Wn
Israel wages evening strikes on Lebanon, causing casualties in Tyre city
Israel carried out a second wave of airstrikes in Lebanon on Saturday evening, including in the southern city of Tyre and the Bekaa region, in response to three rockets that were fired by unknown indi...
t.ly
March 22, 2025 at 8:55 PM
"Israel carried out a second wave of airstrikes in Lebanon on Saturday evening, including in the southern city of Tyre and the Bekaa region, in response to three rockets that were fired by unknown individuals from Lebanon at north Israel."
t.ly/c_9Wn
t.ly/c_9Wn
"Hezbollah denied responsibility for Saturday's strikes, saying it had "no link" to the rocket launches and that it remained committed to the ceasefire. No group claimed responsibility for the attack."
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Israel strikes Lebanon in response to cross-border launch
Israeli artillery fire and airstrikes hit southern Lebanon on Saturday after Israel said it had intercepted rockets fired from across the border, threatening a shaky truce that ended a year-long war between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
www.reuters.com
March 22, 2025 at 4:33 PM
"Hezbollah denied responsibility for Saturday's strikes, saying it had "no link" to the rocket launches and that it remained committed to the ceasefire. No group claimed responsibility for the attack."
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
“'The slogan ‘people, army, and resistance’ is now a thing of the past,” Nawaf Salam, referring to Hezbollah’s previous demands to include it in every government’s policy statement, effectively legitimizing its weapons."
t.ly/QzrgR
t.ly/QzrgR
‘Page has been turned’ on Hezbollah’s weapons, Israel should withdraw from Lebanon: PM
Lebanon’s prime minister said Friday that the “page has been turned” on Hezbollah’s weapons and slammed Israel for continuing to occupy parts of southern
t.ly
March 22, 2025 at 2:49 AM
“'The slogan ‘people, army, and resistance’ is now a thing of the past,” Nawaf Salam, referring to Hezbollah’s previous demands to include it in every government’s policy statement, effectively legitimizing its weapons."
t.ly/QzrgR
t.ly/QzrgR
"But instead of entering genuine talks, Netanyahu, on 2 March, introduced a new demand, namely that Hamas release the remaining hostages not in exchange for an end to the war, but simply to secure an extension of phase one."
t.ly/HxZ24
t.ly/HxZ24
Stopping Israel’s War in Gaza | Crisis Group
On 18 March, Israel resumed bombing Gaza, upending a two-month ceasefire. Returning to war promises little but more death and destruction. The U.S. should insist on restoring the truce and endorse the...
t.ly
March 22, 2025 at 1:12 AM
"But instead of entering genuine talks, Netanyahu, on 2 March, introduced a new demand, namely that Hamas release the remaining hostages not in exchange for an end to the war, but simply to secure an extension of phase one."
t.ly/HxZ24
t.ly/HxZ24
"An official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of ongoing operations, said Hegseth signed orders Thursday to extend the deployment of the USS Harry S. Truman in the region for at least another month."
t.ly/aBdkL
t.ly/aBdkL
Hegseth orders Pacific aircraft carrier to Middle East amid Houthi strikes
This will mark the second time in six months that two U.S. carrier strike groups have been stationed in the region.
t.ly
March 21, 2025 at 11:48 PM
"An official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of ongoing operations, said Hegseth signed orders Thursday to extend the deployment of the USS Harry S. Truman in the region for at least another month."
t.ly/aBdkL
t.ly/aBdkL
"The US show of strength against the Houthis and warning to Iran that it could be next also appear aimed at reinforcing Trump’s goal of getting Tehran to engage in negotiations on its nuclear program and destabilizing regional behavior."
t.ly/Fmgai
t.ly/Fmgai
Trump’s Middle East strategy is all about striking an Iran deal. Gaza could get in the way.
Recent US actions in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon fit together in supporting the central objective of a deal with Iran.
t.ly
March 21, 2025 at 11:16 PM
"The US show of strength against the Houthis and warning to Iran that it could be next also appear aimed at reinforcing Trump’s goal of getting Tehran to engage in negotiations on its nuclear program and destabilizing regional behavior."
t.ly/Fmgai
t.ly/Fmgai
With Katz's statement it becomes more and more clear what the purpose of this war is. The Israeli army was massively present everywhere in Gaza and bombed the hell out of that place with no result. Now they are trying the same strategy. You just can't be that stupid.
www.jpost.com/breaking-new...
www.jpost.com/breaking-new...
IDF will seize Gaza land permanently until Hamas releases hostages, Katz says
"If the hostages are not released, Israel will continue to take more and more territory in the Strip for permanent control," he concluded.
www.jpost.com
March 21, 2025 at 9:11 PM
With Katz's statement it becomes more and more clear what the purpose of this war is. The Israeli army was massively present everywhere in Gaza and bombed the hell out of that place with no result. Now they are trying the same strategy. You just can't be that stupid.
www.jpost.com/breaking-new...
www.jpost.com/breaking-new...
"Hamas said it was still debating Witkoff's proposal and other ideas, with the goal of reaching a deal on prisoner releases, ending the war, and securing a complete Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
Hamas studying US 'bridge' proposal on ceasefire as Israel escalates return to war
Hamas said it was reviewing a U.S. proposal to restore the Gaza ceasefire as Israel intensified military operations in the enclave.
www.reuters.com
March 21, 2025 at 3:07 PM
"Hamas said it was still debating Witkoff's proposal and other ideas, with the goal of reaching a deal on prisoner releases, ending the war, and securing a complete Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
www.reuters.com/world/middle...
"Israel and US have sought to change the terms of the deal by extending phase one. Hamas wants negotiations for phase 2, meant to establish a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza while the remaining hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners."
www.rfi.fr/en/internati...
www.rfi.fr/en/internati...
Israel restarts ground operations, issues 'last warning' to Gazans
Israel bombarded Gaza and pressed its ground operations on Thursday after issuing what it called a "last warning" for Palestinians to return hostages and remove Hamas from power.
www.rfi.fr
March 20, 2025 at 10:20 AM
"Israel and US have sought to change the terms of the deal by extending phase one. Hamas wants negotiations for phase 2, meant to establish a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza while the remaining hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners."
www.rfi.fr/en/internati...
www.rfi.fr/en/internati...