Occupation of Gaza City will be 'devastating' for Israeli army, Abu Obeida warns

The spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades, warned on Friday that Israel's plans to occupy Gaza City "will be devastating for its political and military leadership".

"The enemy army will pay the price with the blood of its soldiers, and [our] chances of capturing new soldiers will increase," Abu Obeida said in a statement. 

Qassam's fighters, he added, remain "in a state of high alert, preparedness, and morale" ahead of further Israeli ground incursions. 

"The war criminal Netanyahu and his Nazi ministers have insisted on reducing the number of living enemy prisoners by half, and to permanently disappear most of their bodies," Abu Obeida said of the Israeli captive soldiers held in Gaza.

"The enemy army and its terrorist government will bear full responsibility for this".

To that end, he said, Qassam will guard the captives "to the best of our ability," given they are "in the areas of combat and confrontation, under the same risky conditions".

"We will announce the name, photo, and proof of death of every prisoner killed by [Israeli] aggression," Abu Obeida said.