Abu Hamza, a military spokesman for the group’s armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, said in a statement on Wednesday that the movement will continue to resist the Israeli occupation of “our lands, no matter how many years it lasts,” according to Press TV.
“We will not lay down our arms,” Abu Hamza said, underscoring the group’s firm stance.
The spokesperson stressed that the movement maintains strong ties with other resistance groups.
“We are facing a very important and difficult stage, at a historical crossroads of unity of peoples, nations and resistance forces in one of the strongholds of the Arab-Islamic struggle,” the statement added.
The report said Israel’s war in Gaza, which ended with a ceasefire earlier this month after nearly two years, was not a response to the Al-Aqsa flood operation, but “rather reflects a deliberate intention to wage a war of annihilation with unlimited American support.”
Abu Hamza claimed that the October 7, 2023 operation was “imposed upon us and carried out in response to Israel’s endless crimes, including the occupation of al-Quds and the West Bank, the attack and siege on Gaza, and the human rights violations against Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.”
“The[Israeli]occupation ‘military’ lacks humanity and values and is an army of racist thugs.”
The statement honored resistance fighters who lost their lives during the war, including Naji Maher Abu Saif, a former spokesman for the al-Quds Brigades.
Islamic Jihad also praised the support provided to the Palestinians by “loyal groups in Lebanon, Yemen and Iran” during the war.
Israel’s two-year genocidal war in Gaza has left some 68,300 Palestinians dead and 170,373 injured.
The ceasefire represents the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan, with subsequent steps to be negotiated at a later date.
The Israeli regime then attacked across Gaza in violation of the ceasefire agreement, killing dozens of Palestinians.
MNA