Did Hamas announce that it was ending its role in the conflict with Israel in response to Donald Trump's election win, as implied in a social media post? No, that's not true: In the Newsweek article included in the post, a Hamas spokesperson called for "an immediate cessation of the aggression against our people, especially in Gaza" by Israel. Hamas did not say it was pulling out of the conflict.
The implied claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram on November 6, 2024, under the title "It hasn't even been 24 hours and Trump already ended the war in the Middle East." The post's caption said:
Yes this is real. They don't want the smoke 🤣 Look what is possible with a strong leader. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH 🇺🇸 #MAGA #MEGA
This is what the post looked like on Instagram at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Thu Nov 7 17:32:28 2024 UTC)
The screenshot of just the Newsweek headline is misleading, especially without the context of its actual story. The Newsweek article (archived here) published on November 6, 2024, does include a Hamas call for an "immediate" end to the conflict, but by Israel, not the Palestinian militant group. In the story, Hamas Political Bureau member and spokesperson Basem Naim told Newsweek:
'The election of Trump as the 47th president of the USA is a private matter for the Americans ... but Palestinians look forward to an immediate cessation of the aggression against our people, especially in Gaza, and look for assistance in achieving their legitimate rights of freedom, independence, and the establishment of their independent self-sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital.'
'The blind support for the Zionist entity 'Israel' and its fascist government, at the expense of the future of our people and the security and stability of the region, must stop immediately,' he added.
There was no indication at the time of writing that Israel is ready to end its military operation against Hamas in Gaza.
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Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims related to the 2024 U.S. general election and other elections are here.
