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Al-Qassam Brigade claims ground war will provide hope for liberating prisoners

February 17, 2014 at 11:20 pm

Mohammed al-Dayf, the Commander-in Chief of Hamas’s military wing, the Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigade, has said that Israel has committed a grave strategic and tactical error in its estimation of the response to its aggression. “It’s a significant blunder,” he claimed.

In a short recording aired by Hamas-controlled media on Tuesday afternoon, Al-Dayf said, “Al-Qassam’s response has broken the rules of engagement which the enemy endeavoured to impose on us.” It was inevitable, he said, that the response should match the crime of the assassination of Commander Ahmed al-Jabari, referring to the missiles targeting Tel Aviv and occupied Jerusalem.


Commenting on the threat of an Israeli ground offensive against the Gaza Strip he added, “The ground war being threatened would be the greatest opportunity to secure the release of prisoners in Israeli jails.” This was a clear reference to the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit whose release last year was made in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners by Israel.