Daesh operates war in Gaza to recruit in Europe

They are on the lookout for the slightest opportunity to sow terror. With each conflict involving Muslims, terrorist groups take hold of field images in order to generate their own story. The goal? Attract new recruits.

After the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya who catapulted international terrorism in the 1990s, and the civil war in Syria which served as a springboard for the Islamic State group two decades later, the conflict between Israel and Hamas does not escape the rule. “Gaza is a source that feeds terrorism and radicalization throughout the Islamic world. There is a strong emotional reaction, ”said a military source in the British daily Tea Guardian. “We are just starting to feel the pressure ride.”

Propaganda on social networks

The post-October 7 context changed the situation. Since the fall of its caliphate in 2019, Daesh has been more weakened, but not destroyed. The terrorist group therefore wants to take advantage of the situation in Gaza to enlist new members, in Europe in particular. To feed its propaganda, Daesh relies on the accounts of suffering, and frustration in the face of international inaction.

However, during the wave of deadly attacks in Europe, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not instrumentalized by the means of the Islamic State group. “They saw that Hamas was buzzing on online jihadist networks. A few days later, they called to kill Jews. They recycled their speeches to tear it to this news, ”analyzes Anne-Clémentine Larroque, former historian-analyst in French anti-terrorist justice and the author of the book The identity hole (Ed. PUF, 224 pages, 2021).

Especially since in a decade, propaganda speeches are increasingly accessible on social networks or on sites bringing together video game followers. Very quickly, the platform algorithms enclose the user in a spiral of violent and radical content. Since 2023, the majority of people implicated in preparing for attacks are under the age of 21: whether young adults or minors.

More frequent isolated attacks

The terrorist group exploits the frustration born of what many perceive as the apathy of the international community. “They may be confronted with the silence of Muslim religious who want to avoid politicizing the subject by denouncing the attitude of Benyamin Netanyahu …”, observes Haouès Seniguer, political scientist and author of God is with us! October 7 and its consequences. How Islamic and Jewish religions justify violence (ed. The edge of the water, 240 p., 2025). Of course, not everyone ends up radicalized, but young people in search of identity can fall into this indoctrination. “They make these young people believe that this is a new cause,” explains Anne-Clementine Larroque. And the Islamic State group can achieve its ends.

If he no longer relies on bloodthirsty and large -scale attacks like those of November 13, 2015, orchestrated from abroad, he can arouse isolated, more frequent attacks. This was the case in December 2023, when a 26 -year -old man assassinated a tourist near the Eiffel Tower, claiming his act on behalf of Daesh. He claimed that he no longer endures to see Muslims die in Afghanistan and Palestine, accusing France of complicity with Israel. If it is an isolated case, and the still latent threat, the intelligence services remain on the alert. Faced with this tense geopolitical context, vigilance is to be put everywhere in Europe.