Hamas spokespeople in Gaza warned Friday there would be “serious consequences” to Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza, saying the organization would continue to bombard Israeli cities and “looked forward” to kidnapping and killing IDF soldiers.
Organization spokesperson Sami Abu Zouri said that by initiating a ground invasion, Israel “tore the Egyptian ceasefire agreement to shreds.” He failed to mention the small detail that Israel originally accepted the ceasefire deal, whereas his organization rejected it out of hand.
Notably, even Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen accused Hamas for the current round of fighting. Speaking to reporters in Cairo, where he had been meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in an attempt to secure a ceasefire, Abu Mazen said he was dismayed and shocked that Hamas did not accept the Egyptian-brokered deal, and said that Palestinian Islamic Jihad – a rival terror group terror gang to Hamas in the Strip – had shown willingness to take the deal.
Israel Radio also reported that Abu Mazen said the Rafiah border to Egypt would only open in accordance with the Borders Arrangement, signed between the PA, United States,European Union and Israel. The agreement calls for PA troops to administer the crossing, with Israel maintaining the right to monitor the crossing “from afar.” Hamas is not a party to that agreement.
Palestinian human rights groups say at least 80 percent of the casualties in Gaza have been civilians. IDF officials say that number is approximately half, but they stress the fact that Hamas uses women and children as human shields to ensure a civilian death toll.