Hamas told The New York Times that it hopes its war with Israel will be “permanent on all the borders.”
“I hope that the state of war with Israel will become permanent on all the borders, and that the Arab world will stand with us,” said Hamas media advisor Taher El-Nounou.
Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas leadership, stated that war was necessary to “change the entire equation and not just have a clash.”
“We succeeded in putting the Palestinian issue back on the table, and now no one in the region is experiencing calm,” al-Hayya explained.
“Hamas’s goal is not to run Gaza and to bring it water and electricity and such,” he added. “Hamas, the Qassam and the resistance woke the world up from its deep sleep and showed that this issue must remain on the table.”
“This battle was not because we wanted fuel or laborers,” al-Hayya explained. “It did not seek to improve the situation in Gaza. This battle is to completely overthrow the situation.”
American Faith reported that Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby stopped a reporter calling for the United States to condemn Israel over alleged humanitarian law violations.
When a reporter claimed that Israel is “in violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention,” Kirby said, “I — I would just tell you we’re not going to react in near real time to every event. Israel has a right and responsibility to defend itself and we’re going to make sure they have the tools and capabilities to do that.”
Discussing Hamas’ acts, Kirby emphasized, “Hamas actually does have genocidal intentions against the people of Israel. They’d like to see it wiped off the map. They said so on purpose. So, that’s — that’s what’s at stake here and we’re going to keep making sure that Israel has that ability to do that.”
