GAZA CITY, Palestine 

Hamas's political bureau chief said Thursday that resistance forces in the Gaza Strip are prepared for a prolonged war with the Israeli army.

In a recorded speech, Ismail Haniyeh praised the resilience of the Palestinian people and the coordination of resistance factions “to disperse the capabilities of the Israeli army and weaken it on multiple fronts.”

“If the enemy desires a long battle, our capacity is longer than our enemy’s, and our resistance will have the decisive word in it,” indicating that “the resistance is engaged in a strategic conflict with the Zionist enemy and will only emerge victorious,” he said.

He highlighted the “victories achieved by the resistance members on the ground in the Gaza Strip,” adding “the heroes of the resistance are writing pages of glory in Gaza, comparable to their counterparts in heroism, courage and daring, delivering painful blows to our enemy's army and its vehicles.”

“The world will witness the Al-Qassam Brigades and the resistance factions defeating the Israeli occupation in Gaza, as they did 18 years ago,” he said, referring to the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005.

“They will reap nothing but more failure, disappointment and defeat.”

Haniyeh considered “the residents of Gaza and the resistance to have thwarted the enemy's goals and plans for displacement or forcibly regaining hostages.”

On another note, he called for the implementation of the resolutions of an emergency Arab-Islamic summit held in the Saudi capital Riyadh days ago, especially those related to “immediately stopping the aggression, lifting the siege on Gaza, protecting the sanctities, and realizing the aspirations of our people for freedom, return and independence.”

He also emphasized the importance of “the swift convening of a committee composed of several countries tasked with monitoring the implementation of the decisions issued by the summit.”

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala