Hamas leader Osama Hamdan confirmed that the assassination in the southern suburbs will not deter the movement from its goals nor break it, and "revenge" will continue "until the liberation of Jerusalem and the land." He added, "The assassination of martyr Saleh al-Arouri will not shake our convictions. The enemy has once again confirmed its disregard for laws, treaties, and the security and sovereignty of any state." He stated, "We will take revenge on the enemy, and our significant revenge is the return to the liberation of Jerusalem, the removal of this enemy, and the return of our people to their cities and villages."
He further noted that the number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip has reached 22,920 and in the West Bank 321 since October 7. About 4% of the population of Gaza are martyrs, injured, or missing after 93 days of aggression. More than 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza are displaced from their homes.
He remarked, "This Nazi occupation has destroyed about 70% of civilian facilities and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip with the aim of imposing forced displacement on civilians. There are 6,000 injuries that need to travel for treatment to save their lives, with only 650 injured having traveled for treatment outside the Gaza Strip so far. The crimes of shelling and the intentional killing of Palestinian journalists continue, with 109 journalists having been martyred, the latest being martyr journalist Hamza al-Dahdouh, the son of journalist Wael al-Dahdouh, and martyr journalist Mustafa Thuraya, in a Zionist attempt to terrorize journalists and deter them from conveying the truth."
He pointed out that the Israeli entity is working to "destroy archaeological sites in Gaza in a failed and desperate attempt to obliterate the Palestinian cultural and heritage presence, having destroyed more than 200 archaeological and heritage sites out of 325 in the Gaza Strip, including ancient mosques, churches, schools, museums, ancient houses, and various heritage sites."
