Hamas: “Israel” Made Grave Miscalculation, Will Pay “Heavy Price” for Gaza Killings

By Staff, Agencies

The head of the political bureau of the Hamas resistance movement has strongly condemned the “Israeli” assassination of three top resistance commanders in the besieged Gaza Strip, saying the occupying regime has made a grave miscalculation and will pay a hefty price for its act of aggression.

“Assassinating the leaders in a treacherous operation will not bring security to the occupier, but rather more resistance,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The [Zionist] enemy made a gross miscalculation and will pay the price for the crime. The resistance front will devise a method that will hurt the treacherous enemy the hardest.”

The al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, mourned the deaths of three of its commanders as a result of the “cowardly Zionist assassination operation.”

“As we mourn the loss of our leaders, their wives and some of their children, we affirm that the blood of the martyrs will increase our resolve. We will not leave our positions, and the resistance will continue,” it said.

Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman, also said, “We felicitate our nation on the martyrdom of a group of resistance leaders in the Gaza Strip. The occupation [‘Israeli’ entity] bears full responsibility for the latest act of aggression on the strip, and the resistance front will continue to defend our people and sanctities.”

“Palestinian people and their resistance know how to sharply strike the enemy and respond to the crime of assassinating a number of the al-Quds Brigades commanders,” Qassem added.

The “Israeli” military said in a statement that the senior Islamic Jihad officials assassinated in the early Tuesday strikes include Khalil al-Bahitini, the commander of the al-Quds Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, Tariq Izz al-Din, a spokesperson for the movement who also manages retaliatory operations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and Jihad al-Ghannam, secretary of the movement’s military council.

At least 13 Palestinians were martyred in the strikes and 20 others were wounded, according to Palestinian reports, with a number of sites in Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Yunis targeted, among other locations.

According to the “Israeli” army, Bahitini was the most senior operational commander in the Islamic Jihad and was responsible for the rocket fire toward occupied territories last month. Bahitini was apparently planning further rocket fire in the near future.

Izz al-Din was responsible for the communications between the movement and its branches in the West Bank and for transferring funds and coordinating resistance active in the occupied lands.

Ghannam was one of the most senior operatives in the Islamic Jihad and served at one point as the commander of the al-Quds Brigades in the southern Gaza Strip.

In his latest position, Ghannam was responsible for coordinating the transfer of funds and weapons from the movement to Hamas.

Alongside the assassinations, six military compounds and a military position belonging to the Islamic Jihad were targeted as well.

The Islamic Jihad movement also said the resistance “will not stop until the end of the Zionist occupation.”

“The resistance will start from where previous battles ended. The rules of engagement with the enemy have been established, which wants to drive Palestinians out of their land,” Tariq Selmi, a spokesman for the group, said.

“All scenarios and options are open to the resistance to respond to the crimes of the occupying regime, which disregarded all initiatives of mediators. The resistance will avenge the commanders’ assassinations.”

Selmi also stressed that the “Israeli” entity’s “crime will not pass unpunished.”

“The bombardment will be met by bombardment and the attack will be met by an attack,” he said.

Head of the Islamic Jihad’s media office, Daoud Shehab, also stressed that all cities and settlements deep inside the “Israeli”-occupied territories are within the reach of Palestinian resistance groups’ missiles.

“We promise our martyrs, leaders and our people that the Zionist enemy cannot escape unscathed. We will remain steadfast in our positions, and will continue to tread the path of resilience,” he told al-Quds al-Youm television network.

Shehab noted that the international community will soon find out that the “Israeli” apartheid entity has failed to achieve any objectives out of the latest act of aggression, as the Palestinian resistance front will not hesitate and will not be complacent about taking retaliatory measures.

Additionally, Mohammed al-Hindi, a member of the political bureau of the Islamic Jihad said that the “Israeli” enemy will pay the price for the treacherous crime it perpetrated against the senior commanders of the al-Quds Brigades.

“The resistance is ongoing and escalating. It will determine the end of this conflict. Martyrdom is our dignity, and the assassination of our commanders demonstrates the path of struggle for us,” he added.