Hamas revealed its plan for a "permanent state of war" with the Jewish state of Israel as the Israel Defense Forces seek to eradicate Hamas from the Gaza Strip.
The terrorist group responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel is urging its Arab allies to "stand behind" Gaza as fears mount of a wider regional conflict.
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"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," Hamas media adviser Taher El-Nounou told the New York Times.
"We succeeded in putting the Palestinian issue back on the table, and now no one in the region is experiencing calm," he said.
The IDF has already clashed with Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists, and Iran has been linked to Hamas, allegedly helping the group plot its early October attack. A top Iranian official, Sardar Abolfazl Shekarchi, called the Oct. 7 attack "the greatest success of the Islamic world."
Israel was on the brink of a deal with Saudi Arabia, perhaps the largest power player in the Arab world, to normalize its relationship for the first time in history; then tragedy struck on Oct. 7 when over 1,400 Israelis were killed, raped, tortured, burned alive, and had their bodies desecrated and paraded around by their assailants. Hundreds of others were taken hostage.
Israel responded to the attack by declaring war on Hamas the next day and unleashing a bombardment of airstrikes. Despite Israel warning the residents of Gaza to leave the region, Hamas has demanded they stay and has blocked their evacuation paths. The Palestinian terrorist group continues to hide behind innocent civilians, even setting up its headquarters under a large hospital.
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The Palestinian Health Ministry claims there have been over 10,000 Palestinians killed in Israel's retaliatory strikes, including over 4,000 children. Alongside Hamas, pro-Palestinian activists have called for a ceasefire in the region, something experts deem would only benefit Hamas, giving it an opportunity to regroup and carry out more attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be "no ceasefire, general ceasefire, in Gaza without the release of our hostages."