Offensive on Gaza big gamble for Israelis: Hamas

Gaza, Aug 1: The Islamic Hamas movement said Thursday that the continuation of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip is a big gamble for the Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to resume the military operation is "a gamble that pushes the Israeli army to the unknown", Xinhua quoted Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhhoum as saying in a statement.

Netanyahu is waging the war to stay in power "driven by regional and international allies that pushed him to a losing battle the consequences of which are unknown", Barhoum added.

Meanwhile, top Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayyah also said that Netanyahu is living a crisis due to the rockets fired into Israel from Gaza.

The Israeli prime minister's comments came at the start of an urgent government meeting Thursday noon in which Netanyahu said that the army has succeeded in destroying tens of tunnels in Gaza.

Israel's public radio said Thursday that the cabinet gave its orders to the army to continue its attacks on the Gaza Strip Wednesday evening.

The Israeli army summoned an additional 16,000 reserve soldiers, bringing the total number of reserve soldiers since the beginning of "Protective Edge" operation to around 86,000. An Israeli military source said that recruiting more troops and seeking U.S. military assistance signal an expansion of the Israeli operation.

Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon said the operation won' t stop before ensuring Israel's safety and security. "Hamas has had incurred unprecedented losses."

Israel's military operation started July 8 to end rocket attacks on southern Israel and followed a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank.

IANS