DUBAI, October 24. /TASS/. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Monday that Hamas leaders told him that they are ready for a long confrontation with Israel.

"On Sunday evening, I spoke with [head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas Palestinian movement Ismail] Haniyeh and [Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad] al-Nakhalah, who told me about the latest developments in Gaza. The leaders of the resistance stress that they are ready for a long struggle against the Zionist regime. That is why they demand that it stop attacks on civilians," he said after the 3+3 ministerial meeting on the South Caucasus in Tehran.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.