Despite Israel's ceasefire declaration
Saturday, Hamas says it will not be laying down its arms just yet.
Group spokesman Fauzi Barhoum said that "a unilateral ceasefire does not mean an end to the aggression and siege, which also constitute components of war. Therefore, this means the resistance is not over yet."
Meanwhile, Hamas representative in Lebanon Osama Hamadan said that "If the Israeli military continues its existence in the Gaza Strip, this is a wide door for the resistance against the occupation forces."
Hamadan characterized Olmert's statement as "failure speech number 2," referring to the Second Lebanon War. "Through his declarations, Olmert attempted to avoid a commission of inquiry that would look into the war's failure."
Turning his attention to Israeli attacks in Gaza, Hamadan added: "Hamas was not hurt…Hamas and the Palestinian organizations continue to rule Gaza. The victims of this war will be the basis for the continuation of the fighting and hostility vis-à-vis the Israeli side."
The Hamas representative also disparaged the IDF, saying that "if this is all the strength they have, they failed in defeating the Palestinian people."
"Imagine what will happen when the circumstances change – and the circumstances will change. There is no doubt that one could sense Olmert was not confident in what he said. His speech will be leveraged to continue the resistance," Hamadan said.
Reuters contributed to the report
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