GAZA CITY
Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has called for lifting a years-long Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip and reopening the territory's crossings.
"The Gaza blockade must be lifted so that our people live in freedom like all other peoples around the world," Haniyeh said in a speech aired on the pro-Hamas Al-Aqsa TV on Monday.
The Gaza Strip, home to 1.8 million Palestinians, has been reeling under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2006.
Haniyeh said that the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip has totally failed.
"Our will has not been broken by the [Israeli] siege," he said.
Since last Monday, the Gaza Strip has been under relentless Israeli attacks that left at least 189 people dead and more than 1300 others injured.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire rockets at Israeli cities in response at the ongoing Israeli attacks.
Haniyeh hinted that efforts were underway to strike a ceasefire between the Palestinian factions and Israel.
The Hamas leader accused Israel of violating all Egypt-brokered agreement such as the 2012 ceasefire and a prisoner swap deal, going on to call on the Arab and Islamic countries to show solidarity with the Gaza Strip at all levels.
In 2012, the administration of former president Mohamed Morsi – later ousted by Egypt's military – mediated a ceasefire that ended eight days of relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza, which left scores of Palestinians dead.
Under the agreement, Israel agreed to halt airstrikes on the besieged coastal strip, while Palestinian factions – led by Hamas – agreed to stop rocket fire into Israel.
In 2011, Hamas reached a prisoner swap deal with Israel under which captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was released in return for freeing 1027 Palestinian prisoners.
By Mustafa Haboosh
www.aa.com.tr/en
