‘You shall burn in Gaza’s alleys’: Hamas warns Israeli troops
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas’s military wing has strongly warned Israel against redeploying its forces to the Gaza Strip after the partial withdrawal of the occupation forces from southern Gaza.
Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades issued the warning in a message to Tel Aviv on Sunday.
“You may enter Gaza’s streets, but, owing to our brave fighters’ determination, you shall burn in its alleys every time [you enter],” the message read.
The brigades earlier reacted to the Israeli army’s withdrawal from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, saying the regime’s pullout was put down to the army’s failure to achieve its goals.
The brigades’ statement says, “The enemy entered most of Gaza’s areas, destroying them completely, and today, it says it has destroyed the Hamas movement’s brigades. However, whatever area it returns to, assuming that it will not face the resistance’s fighters [there], it will be caught off guard by intense resistance.”
Earlier, the Tel Aviv regime announced pulling out most of its forces from the southern Gaza areas in a move it claimed was aimed at enabling their recuperation and preparation for future offensives.
The Israeli military says a “significant force” will remain in the rest of the besieged Gaza Strip.
The regime has alleged that it had defeated the resistance in those areas.
Hamas, however, roundly rejects the claim, noting that its fighters have always surprised Tel Aviv, pointing out that the withdrawal came after the regime stopped short of achieving its goals in those areas.
Israel waged a genocidal war against Gaza on October 7 last year following Operation Al-Aqsa Storm by the territory’s resistance groups into the occupied territories, during which hundreds were taken captive.
Around 33,200 Palestinians, mostly women, children, and adolescents, have been killed in the brutal military onslaught so far.
Tel Aviv, though, has failed to realize any of its stated goals, including destroying Hamas, prompting forced displacement of Gaza’s entire population, and enabling the release of the captives.
Hamas has, meanwhile, vowed to resolutely defend the territory and refuse to release the captives unless the regime ceases the aggression, withdraws all of its forces, enables the return of the displaced Palestinians, and engages in a proper captive exchange process with the resistance.
