Hamas official threatens Israel, urges Palestinian reconciliation at mass rally
A senior Hamas official threatened Israel if it does not remove its blockade over Gaza amid reports of progressing efforts between the terror group and the Jewish state to achieve a long term ceasefire.
“The enemy must understand that we will draw new equations if the siege is not lifted,” said Osama al-Mazini at a rally attended by tens of thousands in Gaza City, marking the 32nd anniversary of Hamas’s founding.
Gaza has been under blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt since the Hamas terror group seized power in 2007. UN officials have called for the blockade to be lifted due to its negative economic and humanitarian implications, but Jerusalem says it is necessary to keep Hamas, which avowedly seeks Israel’s destruction, from obtaining weapons or materials to make them.
With Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh currently visiting regional leaders abroad, al-Mazini addressed the anniversary mass rally and touched on a range of issues, including Palestinian reconciliation efforts, negotiations toward a prisoner exchange with Israel along with broader efforts against the Jewish state.
