Hamas released on Saturday a videotape of a man it said is the shadowy bombmaker who has eluded israeli occupation forces for more than a decade. Over this period, Deif escaped several assassination attempts.
According to The AP the man, identifying himself as Mohammed Deif, described the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as a victory for armed resistance, rejected calls for his movement to disarm, and vowed to continue attacks on Israel until it is erased from the map.
In the video, Deif hailed the hundreds of martyrs who have died in attacks against Israel, and said the resistance had driven Israel out of the Gaza Strip. "Without this jihad and this steadfastness, we did not achieve the liberation of the Gaza Strip... You have occupied our land. Now you are leaving Gaza humiliated," he said in a message to Israel.
"We will not hesitate, and we will not rest until we liberate our holy land fully," he said.
