Hamas vows Israeli massacres will not go without response

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Hamas said Thursday that the Israeli occupation massacres against Palestinians in Gaza will not go without a response and accountability.

The remarks by the Palestinian resistance group are its first on the killing of two settlers in a shooting in the West Bank.

Two Israeli settlers were killed after being shot by a Palestinian near the Eli settlement in the central West Bank, media reports said Thursday.

Hamas did not explicitly claim responsibility for the shooting but it hailed the operation in a statement. ''We congratulate the martyrdom of the Officer Mohammed Yousef Diab Mansoura from Qalandia refugee camp,'' it said.

The group emphasized that "the ongoing Israeli occupation massacres against our steadfast and resilient people, especially the recent horrific massacre at Dowar al-Nablusi in Gaza City, will not go without a response.''

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and 760 injured Thursday when Israeli forces shelled a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid south of Gaza City, said the Health Ministry in the enclave.

Witnesses said hundreds of Palestinians were waiting to receive aid near Dowar al-Nablusi when they came under Israeli fire.

Israel has launched a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

At least 30,035 Palestinians have since been killed and 70,457 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents in northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio