Iraq's PMF on maximum alert amid concerns of regional escalation over Israel's war on Gaza 

Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) were set on maximum alert on Thursday, 2 November, as concerns grow that Israel's brutal war on Gaza will expand into a regional conflict. 

Deputy commander and PMF chief of staff Abdul Aziz al-Muhammadawi, also known as Abu Fadak, on Thursday held an urgent security meeting with PMF's top commanders in which he stressed the current conditions in the region are alarming for a war as a consequence of Israel's relentless war on Palestine and Gaza strip. 

He also said that they should support the Palestinians and protect the sovereignty of Iraq. He also said the PMF forces went on maximum alert since early Thursday.

⚡️Yesterday::Secretary General of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, Sheikh Akram Al-Kaabi:

The Iraqi resistance decided to liberate Iraq militarily from America and the matter was settled, and what is coming is greater pic.twitter.com/jWzmDP9lU9

— Middle East Observer (@ME_Observer_) November 2, 2023

 "We are passing through hard and sensitive conditions that the country and the area one hundred per cent depends on our abiding on what we agree on," Abu Fadak told the attendees, according to a video published by PMF's official media. 

His statements come just one day after Akram Al-Kaabi, head of the Iran-backed al-Najaba militia, announced that the so-called Islamic Resistance in Iraq had decided to liberate Iraq [from the US existence] militarily.

It also comes as the head of Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak on Friday afternoon, the first time the leader will appear in public since the beginning of the fighting with Israel on 7 October. He is expected to announce a major escalation with Israel that might also include Iraq.

"The Iraqi Islamic resistance decided to liberate Iraq militarily; this matter has been settled, blessed be the Mujahideen. There will be no stopping, no ceasefire, and no retreat," Al-Kaabi said in a post on the X platform, previously known as Twitter.

Immediately, Ashab Al-Kahaf, another Iraqi militia that had announced multiple drone and missile attacks targeting bases hosting US forces in Iraq, joined Al-Kaabi's call to fight against the US and the coalition forces in Iraq.

On the other hand, an official source within PMF told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic sister website, that the directive from Abu Fadak to raise the state of maximum alert and prepare for any emergency "Was due to real American threats to respond to the airstrikes that the US army has been subjected to in Iraq and Syria, in addition to the possibility of Iraqi factions escalating their military operations against the American presence in the coming days."

The source, who requested not to be named, also stated that the PMF forces have been on high alert since Thursday morning in all operation areas, with a particular focus on desert regions, as well as border areas with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.

"Security measures have been taken at some locations, which could be targeted by US forces since they are outside residential areas, as well as other security measures that cannot be disclosed due to their sensitivity and confidentiality," the source added.

Israel has so far killed 9,061 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 3,760 children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza. Israeli strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday and Wednesday, which caused outrage around the world, have killed 195 people and injured 777.

Israel has been indiscriminately bombarding the Gaza Strip since 7 October, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking around 240 hostages.

In the occupied West Bank, at least 132 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks.

PMF was founded in June 2014 after a fatwa (a religious call to action) was issued by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of Iraq's Shias. Al-Sistani asked young men to step up to fight the Islamic State (IS), the extremist group that tore through Syria before capturing a third of Iraq in the summer of 2014.

PMF militias were officially incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces in 2016. However, some still back Iranian agendas in Iraq and proudly show their loyalty to Iran.