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Middle East conflict

Israel failing to create winning image — Hamas official

"It is impossible to defeat Hamas, impossible to defeat our Palestinian people. We confirm that Netanyahu and his General Staff are getting bogged down in Gaza deeper and deeper," he added

CAIRO, December 5. /TASS/. Israel has failed to paint a winning image, either politically or militarily, Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, said.

"After 60 days of the war, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his army have failed to paint an image of victory, both in political and military terms. Their dream will never come true no matter how long this war lasts," he said in a televised address aired by the Al Jazeera television channel.

"It is impossible to defeat Hamas, impossible to defeat our Palestinian people. We confirm that Netanyahu and his General Staff are getting bogged down in Gaza deeper and deeper," he added.

On November 22, Hamas announced an agreement with Israel, which was brokered by Egypt and Qatar, on a four-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which took effect at 7:00 a.m. local time (5:00 a.m. GMT) on November 24. The deal stipulated the release of Israeli women and children being held hostage in Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.

The sides extended the ceasefire several times but on the morning of December 1 the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Hamas had violated the truce in Gaza and opened fire on Israeli territory, thus prompting the IDF to resume combat operations in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian authorities placed the blame for the resumed hostilities on the United States.

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Middle East conflict

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