GAZA STRIP (Dispatches) – Following the Zionist regime’s threats to assassinate senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, Palestinian resistance groups have warned the occupying regime against targeting resistance leaders.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the Zionist regime’s threat to assassinate its leaders as: “Empty threats that will not intimidate the resistance.”
At the same time, Hamas warned in a statement that any attack by the occupying regime on the leaders of the resistance in the Gaza Strip would face a “strong” reaction.
The Hamas statement came after Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to assassinate the Deputy Head of the Hamas Political Bureau Saleh al-Arouri and other resistance leaders in response to the growing resistance attacks in the occupied West Bank.
“Saleh and all of his brothers and our steadfast Palestinian people will continue with determination and certainty in their resistance against the occupation until the restoration of all the legitimate rights of our people, on top of which is freedom of Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque,” the statement conveyed.
The statement added, “The Zionist enemy, who is confused by the blows of the resistance, must be aware that any harm caused to any resistance leader will be met with a strong reaction.”
Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad movement warned that targeting resistance leaders “is a red line,” pointing out that the Israeli threats “were taken seriously.”
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) declared: “More resistance will deter this brutal occupier, and real unity will prevent it from harming the Palestinians. Any attack on the Palestinian resistance leaders is an attack on all Palestinian people. In case of any attack, retaliation will be heavy.”
For his part, the spokesperson of the Popular Resistance Committees, Mohammad al-Braim, warned: “The Israeli enemy will pay the price for any crime committed against the resistance leaders.”
Netanyahu made the threat after Arouri said in an interview with Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television news network that the Zionist regime would face an “unprecedented defeat” if it started an “all-out war” on the resistance front.
“We are preparing for an all-out war, and we are closely discussing the prospects of this war with all relevant parties… If we reach the point of an all-out confrontation, Israel will face an unprecedented defeat in its history, and we are confident of that,” Arouri warned.
The Zionist regime’s oppression of Palestinians has seen a sharp rise under Netanyahu’s cabinet, which is composed of far-right Zionist parties that oppose Palestinian statehood and support settlement expansion in the occupied territories.
Over the past months, the regime has intensified attacks on Palestinian towns. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and many arrested.
According to the United Nations, 2023 is already the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since the UN began recording fatalities in 2005. The previous year, 2022, had been the most lethal year with 150 Palestinians killed, of whom 33 were minors, as reported by the UN.