A Gazan Activist in Northwest Syria: Interview

During the course of the war in Syria, a number of people migrated from Gaza to Syria in order to join the side of the insurgency against the government. One of these individuals is ‘Abu Khattab al-Ghazi’ (Abu Khattab of Gaza), an activist known for his support for the project of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham based in the area of Idlib and its environs. I conducted an interview with him recently about the recent events in Gaza and the wider region, including the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniya and perspectives on his assassination in the northwest of Syria.

Abu Khattab al-Ghazi with insurgents in northwest Syria.


Q: First, could you tell me a little about your life in hijra [migration] and jihad? When did you come to al-Sham from Gaza and what have you done in the field of al-Sham since your arrival?

A: In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God and prayers and peace be upon Muhammad the Messenger of God, and all his family and companions. As for what follows:

Firstly, I will tell you about myself. I am Osama Samir al-Namas, known as Abu Khattab al-Ghazi, and in the Syrian revolution as Shamil al-Ghazi. I am from the town of Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip: may God provide deliverance to our people in Gaza sooner rather than later.

I came to Syria when the blessed Syrian revolution started: i.e. at the end of 2011. The main reason for hijra was that we in Palestine had been living for decades under great oppression at the hand of the criminal Jews, and when we saw our unarmed Syrian brothers come out to demand freedom and dignity, and when we saw how the Assadist machine of oppression and criminality responded to them and spilled their blood, we realised it was necessary to make hijra to help our oppressed brothers and stand withthem against the oppressive tyrants.

I have worked in a number of fields since I came to Syria, whether in the military aspect previously or ‘popular’ work more recently.