Israel Hamas Conflict – Current Situation – Dialogue 3 I NISSMAT I Latest Video on Israel Hamas

What this session covered

The third instalment in NISSMAT's dialogue series on the Israel–Hamas war took the form of a conversation between the host and a single guest speaker, recorded as Israel's ground offensive in Gaza continued. The session opened with the question of whether Arab states had exerted meaningful pressure for a ceasefire. The guest speaker described a conference of Islamic countries held in Riyadh on 11 November, at which participants called for an immediate ceasefire and floated proposals ranging from breaking the siege of Gaza to an arms embargo on Israel, while denouncing what they characterised as Western double standards. In his reading, none of the participating states wished to enter the war themselves; a reported appeal from the Iranian leadership for Muslim countries to send weapons to Hamas was not taken up, and although some governments withdrew diplomats, none broke relations with Israel. Both speakers concurred that economic self-interest, rather than ideology, best explained the region's restraint.

The discussion then turned to the wider pressures bearing on the United States: drone activity attributed to Iranian-aligned militias against American bases in Syria and Iraq, and missile fire from Yemen intercepted at sea. One speaker argued that this militia activity acted as an indirect deterrent, helping to explain why Washington had confined itself to supplying military aid rather than entering the conflict directly, particularly with an American election approaching. On the ground, the guest speaker described the seizure of northern Gaza, the opening of corridors through which large numbers of civilians had moved south, and the destruction of the Gaza residence of the head of Hamas's political bureau — a strike the host judged largely symbolic, since the man was reported to be living in Qatar. The most searching exchange concerned Israeli claims of a Hamas command centre beneath Gaza's main hospital, with weapons said to have been recovered inside: the host questioned why Israeli intelligence had not identified the site earlier and whether fighters had been present throughout or had moved in once the bombardment began, concluding that on the available evidence the position could be read either way.

The final section examined the United Nations Security Council resolution of 15 November, moved by Malta, which the speakers noted was carried with twelve votes in favour and abstentions by the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia. They reviewed the stated grounds for abstention — the absence of any reference to the 7 October attack in the case of Washington and London, and Moscow's preference for a full ceasefire over a humanitarian pause — alongside a broader observation that the permanent members' own red lines had left the Council close to dysfunctional. The resolution's call for humanitarian pauses was linked in the discussion to a minimum period of five days sought by the International Rescue Committee for relief operations; Israel, the speakers noted, had rejected the resolution as meaningless because it mentioned neither the hostages nor future governance arrangements, and had indicated that its operations would continue. The dialogue closed on a point of explicit agreement: a militant organisation might be defeated in the field, but its ideology could not be ended without negotiation.

Key points raised

• An 11 November conference of Islamic countries in Riyadh called for an immediate ceasefire, but the speakers observed that no member state was willing to enter the war itself, with economic interests judged the decisive restraint rather than ideology.
• One speaker argued that drone attacks by Iranian-aligned militias on US bases in Syria and Iraq acted as an indirect deterrent, helping to explain Washington's decision to limit its role to supplying military aid.
• The speakers weighed Israeli claims of a Hamas command centre beneath Gaza's main hospital against the unresolved question of whether fighters were present before the operation or moved in after the bombardment began.
• The Security Council resolution of 15 November, moved by Malta, was carried with twelve votes in favour; the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia abstained, and Israel rejected it as addressing neither the hostages nor future governance.
• Both speakers concluded that Hamas might be degraded militarily but that its ideology could not be ended without negotiation.