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Hamas official believes Middle East conflict to expand

Osama Hamdan noted that the possible US involvement in Israeli attacks "will not go unanswered"

ROME, October 14. /TASS/. The senior representative of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, does not rule out that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East could spread to new territories.

"There is a real possibility that this will happen. America wants war," he told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. If "the Americans join attacks against" Hamas, it will not go unanswered, Hamdan promised.

"I think a prisoner swap will only be possible after Israel stops its attacks. We will not negotiate under fire," he said when asked if Hamas was ready to talk about the release of hostages.

Hamdan also said that Iran was "taking its support to a new level."

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the opening of other fronts in the fight against Israel was still possible. He pointed out that the country is in contact with a number of regional states and international organizations to send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian Hamas movement staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip as it has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria.

According to the latest official data, more than 1,900 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 7,700 others have suffered wounds. In Israel, over 1,500 people have lost their lives and roughly 4,000 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.