Palestinian Hamas resistance movement says the ongoing operation against Israel will continue, while rejecting any negotiations on Israeli captives as long as the regime’s attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip continue.
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the Gaza Strip-based movement’s military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, made the remark in a late Monday recorded message.
Warning that the Israeli regime must be ready to pay a high price in exchange for the captives’ freedom, the spokesman said, “The matter of prisoners is a strategically crucial issue with a well-defined trajectory, and the occupation will inevitably bear the consequences.”
He noted that the resistance fighters have succeeded in apprehending a significant number of the enemy’s soldiers at various battlefronts, who have been relocated to al-Qassam Brigades’ detention facilities.
“We categorically refuse to engage in deliberations or negotiations regarding prisoners’ matters under the duress of aggression, and the enemy must prepare to pay the price,” he asserted.
Abu Ubaida noted that Hamas has launched the military operation against Israel with unwavering resolve and courage, is fully aware of the potential outcomes, and is also prepared for any eventuality.
“Despite the enemy’s possession of advanced security and military technology, they have failed to confront our fighters on the ground for over 60 hours,” the al-Qassam spokesman said.
He emphasized that the resistance fighters will continue their large-scale operation across multiple locations with the constant rotation of forces, the dispatch of reinforcements armed with weapons and equipment, and the capture of more prisoners.
Abu Ubaida said Hamas fighters have engaged in unrelenting clashes, culminating in the defeat of the entire Gaza division of the occupation army on the first day.
He explained that Operation al-Aqsa Storm came after the Zionist regime’s repression of Palestinians had reached its peak through the desecration of the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
“The enemy thought that by closing the al-Aqsa Mosque to our people and releasing herds of settlers to ignite a religious war… they would escape punishment for their crimes,” Abu Ubaida said.
He also criticized the international community and the United Nations for ignoring Israel’s crimes, saying that the large-scale operation against Israel was a response to the occupying regime’s acts of aggression against Palestinians.
Ubaida warned the Israeli regime that the “era of your triumphs has irrevocably ended, giving way to an era of defeat and setbacks.”
The al-Qassam Brigades maintain a firm grip on the direction of the battle, underpinned by an efficient command and control system, and are fully prepared to endure for an extended duration, he pointed out.
Since Saturday, the Gaza Strip-based resistance groups have fired thousands of rockets at the occupied territories. According to Israeli media outlets, more than 900 settlers and troops have been killed, with over 2,600 others injured as a result.
Earlier on Monday, Hamas lauded the ongoing surprise attack against Israel as a “legitimate right” of the Palestinians in response to the illegal entity’s decades-long aggression and the silence of the international community.
“The battle of Operation al-Aqsa Storm is a legitimate right for our people to defend themselves, their land, and their sanctities, in light of the continued aggression of the occupation and the silence and failure of the world to put an end to its escalating terrorism, and its denial of all the rights of our people and their aspirations to liberate their land and achieve a return to it,” the movement said in a statement.
