ALBAWABA - The al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, have sent a clear message to Israel: any ground advance into Gaza City will be met with fierce resistance. The group said in a Telegram message that it had set up "an army of martyrs" and thousands of ambushes and bombs.
The statement promised to turn the city into a graveyard for Israeli soldiers, saying, "Gaza will not be an easy bite for your army."
Al-Qassam also said that Israel's attack had to do with what would happen to its prisoners. The group said that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kept up military operations, no hostages would be returned, alive or dead. It also said that the prisoners were spread out across different neighborhoods in Gaza, and their safety could no longer be guaranteed.
A Plan of Attrition
The brigades said that Israel was starting a long war of attrition and that the campaign would cost the Israeli army more lives and prisoners. They said that bulldozers and other heavy machinery used in the attack would be targeted, which could lead to more people being held captive by the group.
Limited Israeli Progress
The threats came after Israel said on Tuesday that it would send troops into Gaza City as part of "Chariots of Gideon 2." Reports say that Israeli forces have only made limited progress two days into the attack, with movements limited to the outskirts of neighborhoods in the northwest.
