Hamas Envoy: Resistance to Continue until End of Occupation

“No one should ask us why we have fired missiles. It happened because the Zionist regime had attacked the defenseless people in Al-Quds and desecrated the Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist Zionist settlers. We do not remain silent on these issues, we should go to the scene and defend, and the resistance will continue until the destruction and end of this occupation,” Qadoumi said in Tehran.

He underlined the Palestinian resistance forces’ significant progress in recent years on land, sea and cyber defense fields, and said that the resistance groups’ missile power has been enhanced so much that they could target five Israeli military air bases within 48 hours.

“If the spokesman of the Israeli army says that they are not carrying out a ground attack against Palestinians, it is not because they do not want to harass Palestine, but it is because they have not been able to confront the resistance,” al-Qadoumi said.

He reiterated Hamas’ opposition to ceasefire with Israel, and said many countries which contacted the resistance leaders for mediation to end the war aim to save the Zionist regime.

Israel and Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip have been exchanging missile strikes since May 10, following an outburst of unrest near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City in early May. Clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli police were triggered by an Israeli court ruling to seize dwelling houses in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood from Arab families who have been living there for more than 50 years in favor of Jewish settlers.

According to the latest reports, at least 12 Israelis have been killed and hundreds have been injured. The Palestinian side reported 237 deaths, including 217 in the Gaza Strip, and more than 6,000 wounded in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

The Hamas movement denies reports about its presumed readiness for ceasefire with Israel, The Dunya Al Watan news portal reported, citing Izzat Al-Rishq, a Hamas political bureau member.

“No agreement has been reached. There have been no exact timeframe for the ceasefire as well,” he said, adding, “Mediator efforts and contacts continue without cease.”

An official source in Cairo told TASS on Tuesday that Egypt had put forward a proposal for Israelis and Palestinians to cease fire starting from 06:00 local time on Thursday, May 20.

“Cairo has put forward a proposal to cease fire from 06:00 local time on Thursday, May 20, in coordination with the US administration,” the source stated, noting, “We are waiting for the Palestinian factions and the government of Israel to respond, and expect military operations to be stopped at the end of this week.”

According to the official, an Egyptian delegation on security matters was to depart to Tel Aviv for talks with Israeli colleagues. Contacts with the Palestinian side are maintained as well, but no visit to Gaza has been scheduled so far due to ongoing air strikes.

According to Al-Arabiya, the United States and the European Union, as well as Palestinian factions, support Egypt’s ceasefire initiative. Israel, however, has not yet responded to the proposal.

The TV channel reported that an Israeli delegation has been invited to Cairo for consultations on the ceasefire initiative.