Leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza Yahya Sinwar warned Israel against any attack against the coastal strip, threatening it with defeat.
“We will defeat the occupation army if it crosses into Gaza,” he told families in Khan Younes in southern Gaza.
He labeled a Hamas-led unilateral operation that took place on the Gaza border a few days ago as “heroic”.
“We will continue our work until the siege is broken, the Zionist enemy is defeated and reconciliation is achieved,” Sinwar vowed.
On Monday, Israel arrested a Palestinian teenager who breached the Gaza borders.
The Israeli army said the detainee was taken to a nearby military facility for questioning.
On Sunday, Israel killed a Palestinian at the border after an exchange of fire with Israeli soldiers. This marked the third shooting at the border in a week.
In one of the shootings during which a Palestinian breached the siege, three Israeli soldiers were wounded, according to the Israeli army.
It also came a day after four Palestinians were killed on Saturday inside the southern Gaza Strip. The military said they tried to infiltrate into Israel.
“The resistance stands with the Palestinian people and it is working to avoid any war as much as possible, but at the same time continues to manufacture rockets and dig tunnels despite the siege,” Sinwar added.
He stressed that Hamas continues to maintain its resistance project, and that it will move forward towards reconciliation and permanently ending the division.
Sinwar intended to relay Hamas’ desire for a truce, but without discounting its readiness for war. This can be viewed as an attempt to pressure mediators to make progress.
Egypt is pressing the Palestinian parties for more calm to achieve a reconciliation agreement while keeping peaceful return marches on Friday.
