GAZA CITY, Palestine /ISTANBUL

Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, said on Friday that Palestinian factions are ready to engage in a “long war of attrition” against Israel.

In a recorded speech, his first since March 6, Abu Obaida, Al-Qassam spokesperson, said: “Our fighters have tried in recent weeks to carry out several kidnapping operations targeting Zionist soldiers, some of which almost succeeded… due to the enemy’s use of mass killing tactics against soldiers suspected of being kidnapped.”

The Israeli army uses the “Hannibal protocol” to prevent Palestinian factions from capturing its soldiers in Gaza.

The Hannibal protocol permits the use of heavy weapons when an Israeli soldier is captured to prevent the captors from leaving the scene, even if this poses a danger to the captive.

He continued: “Over these months, hundreds of enemy soldiers have been killed and wounded, alongside thousands suffering psychological illnesses and trauma, at a time when the number of soldiers committing suicide is increasing due to the horror of the bloody acts they commit and the severity of the resistance they face.”

Abu Obaida affirmed that Al-Qassam fighters “surprise the enemy with new and diverse tactics and methods, after learning lessons from the longest confrontation in our people’s history.”

“After 21 months since Al-Aqsa Flood Operation and the Zionist-Nazi war on our people, we confirm that our fighters and their brothers in resistance factions are fully ready to continue a long war of attrition against the occupation, regardless of the forms of its aggression.”

He pointed out that Israel “would not have committed this genocide in your hearing and sight unless it had secured impunity, ensured silence, and bought betrayal. We do not exempt anyone from responsibility for this bleeding blood, nor do we exclude anyone who has the ability to act, each according to their capacity and influence.”

Gaza ceasefire negotiations

Regarding Gaza ceasefire negotiations, he said: “We strongly support the position of the Palestinian resistance negotiation delegation in the indirect talks with the enemy.”

He said: “The Netanyahu criminal government is not concerned with the (Israeli) prisoners because they are soldiers, and their file is not a priority.”

Abu Obaida extended greetings to the Houthi group in Yemen for its support of Gaza and for an “effective front” against Israel, affirming that this “has dealt a decisive blow to the idlers and submissive among the Arab and Islamic regimes, forces, and parties, some of which have unfortunately become facades for oppression and tranquilizers for the peoples and their free youth.”

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 59,000 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.