Hamas: We Declare Victory, Netanyahu Suffered a Great Defeat

Thursday, 20 May 2021 2:13 AM 

Press TV

Mousa Abu Marzouq, Hamas’ deputy leader

Hamas declares victory in its now-10-day-long struggle against the Israeli regime’s huge escalation targeting the Gaza Strip, calling the regime’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the big loser of the confrontation.

Since last Monday, the regime has unconscionably increased its military attacks against the blockaded enclave, where the Palestinian resistance movement is headquartered. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, its fellow Gaza-based resistance group, have responded by firing thousands of rockets at the occupied territories.

“Netanyahu has suffered a great defeat and Hamas declares victory,” Mousa Abu Marzouq, Hamas’ deputy leader, said on Wednesday, Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network reported.

‘Truce in the offing’

“I expect we can reach a truce over the next one or two days,” he added.

According to the official, the resistance’s spectacular response to the Israeli escalation had forced the United States to start pressing Tel Aviv to dial down its assaults.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden urged Netanyahu to seek a “de-escalation” on Wednesday on the path to a ceasefire in the conflict, Reuters reported.

This is while, until a very short while ago, the US would even keep blocking release of a statement at the United Nations Security Council that could ask for cessation of the Israeli attacks, Abu Marzouq said.

The resistance groups’ counterattacks forced Washington to change its stance, he noted.

According to Ofir Gendelman, spokesman for Netanyahu’s office, the Gaza-based groups have fired around 4,000 rockets towards the occupied territories in response to the Israeli regime’s attacks.

The Hamas official also noted how the regime’s intensified savagery had been followed by “unprecedented sympathy” for Palestinians across the entire world, and even inside the occupied territories.

Numerous world leaders have condemned the escalation. Countless world cities, including those perched at the heart of the occupied territories, have also witnessed sweeping protests against the Israeli atrocities.

Calls are growing worldwide for Israel to end its bloody military aggression on Gaza as more Palestinians fall victim to the occupying regime’s onslaught on the besieged enclave.

'Israel fears hell may break loose'

The Hamas official, meanwhile, suggested that another factor that would be forcing the regime into giving in to a truce would be its coming under attack from various directions.

Several rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards the occupied territories over the past week. Iraqi resistance groups and Yemen’s popular Ansarullah movement have also pledged to aid the Gazan groups in their struggle against Tel Aviv.

“Israeli can’t wage war on different fronts, and is very much concerned that the gates of hell may break open in its face,” Abu Marzouq said.

According to the official, the potential armistice would not include the Tel Aviv-occupied West Bank, where the Israeli forces have been attacking Palestinian worshippers and protesters for weeks.

Nevertheless, the resistance would eventually force Netanyahu to stop violating the Palestinians’ rights, he stated.