Hamas underscores 'immediate' lifting of blockade amid Israeli ravges in northern Gaza

A senior spokesman for the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has called for the immediate removal of Israel’s crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip as the occupying regime forges ahead with its merciless aggression on the northern part of the besieged territory.

Sami Abou Zahri said in a press conference in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday that Hamas had expressed “openness” to any agreements or proposals that would alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Abou Zahri added that the the potential agreements should include the establishment of a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of occupation forces from the entire Strip. It should also lift the blockade, facilitate relief aid and support as well as reconstruction in addition to a prisoner exchange deal, he noted.

The Hamas spokesman urged an immediate lifting of the Israeli siege on northern Gaza and the provision of food, medical supplies, and fuel to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and treat as many displaced persons and injured individuals.

Abou Zahri also called for effective pressure on the supporters of the Israeli occupation to halt its aggression and urged regional countries to cut their ties with the occupation entity.

"It is unreasonable for many foreign nations to take such steps while some of our Arab nations insist on maintaining their relations and normalization with the occupation," he added.

Pointing to the dire conditions in northern Gaza, the Hamas spokesman underscored that people in the area are facing “genocide the likes of which was unseen in modern history” for the past three consecutive weeks.

Praising the the resistance front stretching across Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and elsewhere, Abou Zahri said, “It is no longer acceptable for the leaders of the Arab and Muslim nations and their parties to limit themselves to the language of condemnation and statements of outrage, which the occupation has disregarded and which have no effect in deterring it or stopping its crimes.”

The Hamas official also called on the leaders of the Arab and Muslim countries to "announce a historic decision commensurate with the Palestinian cause, the legitimacy of the Palestinian people's rights, and the magnitude of their sacrifices and suffering."

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Meanwhile, the Hamas official addressed the Israeli parliament's bill to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, asserting that the decision represents an extension of the Israeli war against the Palestinian people, their land, rights, and cause, as well as a blatant violation of all international charters and laws.

The latest Israeli decision necessitates immediate action from the international community, a firm stance to criminalize it, and efforts to "expel the occupying entity from UN institutions and impose sanctions on it," he emphasized.

Abu Zuhri also called on all forces of the Arab and Muslim nations to engage in a comprehensive confrontation with the Israeli entity in support of Gaza and Lebanon and their resistance, which would send a message to the Israeli occupation and its backers that the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples are not alone in the battlefield.

Touching on the provocative statements of Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich calling for the expansion of illegal settlements on the occupied Palestinian land, Abu Zuhri said the issue is "an extension of the fascist, aggressive policy" of the occupation regime against Palestinians.

He warned that these statements "reveal the dangerous nature of this racist policy on the security and stability of the region," which requires all countries to work by all means to stop the crimes of the occupation.

The Hamas official concluded, "Our will shall not be broken, and our people will remain steadfast in their land, clinging to their rights [and] defending their national principles and sanctities, regardless of sacrifices.”

Israel waged a genocidal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after Hamas-led resistance groups carried out a historic operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

So far, the occupying regime has killed at least 43,061 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 101,223 others, in the besieged Gaza. 

In its brutal aggression, Israel has deliberately targeted buildings and tents sheltering displaced Palestinians and committed war crimes.

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