The armed wing of ruling Palestinian movement Hamas has threatened to teach the Israeli military a "lesson it will not forget" should the army expand an offensive in the Gaza Strip. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades declared it had the "means and arms necessary to confront the Zionist enemy with all our force if it proceeds (further) with military operations in the Gaza Strip".
Israel has threatened to step up an offensive in the Palestinian territory, where 22 people have been killed since Thursday, in a bid to stop persistent rocket attacks and arms smuggling from Egypt.
A top security official quoted Defence Minister Amir Peretz as telling a parliamentary committee on Monday that there was no option but to expand the Gaza operation "in order to prevent Gaza from turning into southern Lebanon."
"Nobody wants such an operation deep in Palestinian territory but there can be no other option if Hamas continues to arm itself and stage attacks against Israel," he was quoted as telling the foreign affairs and defence committee.
But hitting back at statements from Israel that Gaza militants are amassing stockpiles of smuggled arms, including surface-to-air missiles, Hamas's armed wing accused Israel of "using such allegations to justify criminal operations it seems to have decided to wage in the Gaza Strip".
"It is our right to hold whatever weapons (we need) to defend our people since the enemy does not hesitate before using all sorts of weapons, banned by international conventions, against innocent Palestinian civilians".
"If the enemy decides to go towards a large confrontation with Hamas, we will be up to this challenge and are totally ready to resist. We have finished preparations to teach the Zionist enemy a lesson it will not forget," it added.
Israel has waged a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip since June 28, three days after Gaza-based militants, including the armed wing of Hamas, abducted an Israeli soldier on the border with the Palestinian territory.
According to an AFP count, more than 250 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have been killed inside Gaza since then. The captured soldier has been neither found nor returned and rocket attacks continue to strike Israel.
