Palestinian Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, gives a speech during a rally in Gaza City, Aug. 27, 2014. (AP/Khalil Hamra)
On November 16, Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar stated that the group will strike Tel Aviv if Israel attacks Gaza once again.
“I advise Israel not to try and test us again. This time you did not have a lot of casualties and you managed to rescue your special forces,” he said. “You should not try again, because next time you will have to release thousands of prisoners.”
He also claimed that the next time Israeli forces entered the Gaza Strip, they would only return via a prisoner exchange for “thousands of prisoners.”
On November 13, the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, showcased their new short range rocket named “Ashkelon’s Hell”. The al-Quds Brigades particiapted in the recent escalation over Gaza alongside with Hamas shelling different Israeli targets. According to the group’s statement, it used its new rockets during the encounter.
Earlier in November, the Gaza Strip faced a large-scale encounter between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups after the Israeli military had opened fire at a Hamas patrol during its failed covert operation in the Gaza Strip.
