As the Gaza fighting wound down before an official ceasefire took effect at 2 a.m. Friday morning, a senior Hamas official said Thursday that the Palestinian terrorist group has "no shortage of missiles" and could continue bombarding Israel for months if it chose to do so.
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Osama Hamdan spoke to the Associated Press hours before Israel announced it has accepted an Egyptian ceasefire proposal to the bruising 11-day war against the terrorist group.
Hamdan said that Mohammed Deif, the elusive Hamas commander who has been hunted by Israel for decades, is alive and remains in charge of Gaza military operations.
Deif, also known as Abu Khaled, is by far Israel's most wanted target in Gaza. He has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts, and is rarely seen in public. Israeli media have said there were two more failed attempts during the latest round of fighting, the fourth in just over a decade.
Hamdan told the AP that Deif is "still heading the operation and directing the joint operations" of Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and other factions. He provided no evidence for that statement.
In the interview, Hamdan said Hamas could continue bombarding Israel for months if it chose to do so.
"I can assure that what we saw during the first days in terms of bombarding Tel Aviv and some areas in Jerusalem, can continue not only for days or weeks but for months," said Hamdan.
Hamdan, who is based in Beirut, is a member of Hamas' powerful decision-making political bureau.
Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said that Israel must end its violations in Jerusalem and address damages from the bombardment of Gaza, warning the group still had its "hands on the trigger."
"It is true the battle ends today but [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the whole world should know that our hands are on the trigger and we will continue to grow the capabilities of this resistance," said El-Reshiq.
He told Reuters in Doha that the movement's demands also include protecting the Al-Aqsa mosque at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and ending the eviction of several Arabs from their home in east Jerusalem, which Reshiq described as "a red line."
Hamdan also said that as part of the talks, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another heavily armed terrorist group based in Gaza and backed by Iran, demanded that the Israel Police agree not to enter the Temple Mount. Israel has already said it would reject any Hamas demands linked to Jerusalem.
Netanyahu's office announced a cease-fire after a late-night meeting of his security cabinet on Thursday. A Hamas official, Ali Barakeh, told AP that the terrorists will remain on alert until they hear from the Egyptian mediators.
Earlier Thursday, Hamal political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asking for a wide "mobilization of Arab, Islamic and international support" to stop Israeli airstrikes, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.
Hamdan said Egypt and Qatar were involved in the ceasefire negotiations.
During the 11-day fighting, Hamas missiles have hit deeper inside Israel and with greater accuracy than ever before, including several barrages on Tel Aviv.
Hamdan said the arsenal was far from being depleted. "There is no shortage of missiles," he said, without elaborating.
On Thursday, Hamas received verbal support from ally Iran, which has armed terrorist groups throughout the region.
Gen. Esmail Ghaani, who heads Iran's clandestine Quds Force, sent letters to Deif and a commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, praising "their resistance" against Israel, according to state media in Tehran.
"We will stand by you," Ghaani said in the letters to the Palestinian commanders.
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