Framing Resistance in Hamas’s Military Media: Mobilization Strategies and Discursive Narratives During the Gaza War (2023–2025)

Abstract

This study analyzes the strategic use of military media by Hamas during the Gaza War (2023–2025), focusing on the discursive construction of resistance and mobilization. Amid large-scale destruction and civilian casualties, media emerged as a central arena for ideological contestation. Drawing on speeches and statements by Abū ʿUbayda, spokesperson for the ʿIzz al-Dīn al-Qassām Brigades, this research examines how Hamas crafted narratives to justify military actions, legitimize its political position, and mobilize support across local and transnational contexts. Using Teun A. van Dijk’s socio-cognitive model of Critical Discourse Analysis, the study investigates the interplay between discourse, ideology, and collective memory. Through purposive and stratified sampling of textual and audiovisual materials from official Telegram channels, the analysis identifies key discursive strategies—lexical framing, religious symbolism, and emotional appeals—that represent the conflict as a divinely sanctioned struggle against occupation. At the macro level, themes of martyrdom, heroism, and ideological polarization dominate, while micro-level elements such as evaluative language and binary referential strategies reinforce in-group/out-group distinctions. Visual media further embed ideological content through symbolic imagery and narrative sequencing. The findings demonstrate how Hamas’s military media functioned as an ideological apparatus, shaping collective identity, sustaining morale, and mobilizing resistance within a hybrid media system.