Speaking to Al Jazeera:

“The Al-Qassam attack was a well-organized and disciplined operation, with instructions to target the Israeli military’s Gaza Brigade.

“We preempted an Israeli attack by surprising the leadership of the Israeli military’s Southern Brigade, which quickly collapsed.

“1,200 members of the Al-Qassam Brigades entered the settlements and quickly took control of the Israeli military’s Gaza Brigade. We were surprised that the Gaza Brigade collapsed in less than three hours, faster than we expected.

“The Hamas leadership’s instructions to the fighters were clear: not to kill children and women. It was not part of Al-Qassam’s plan to harm or kill civilians. Hamas cannot target civilians or prisoners, and we act in accordance with international laws of war.

“The occupation knows that its invasion of Gaza will turn the battle into a catastrophe for its army. Before our operation began, the defensive plan was ready, and it is much stronger than the offensive plan. For every action taken by the occupation, we have a plan.

“All possibilities are open, and we have our calculations in all areas. We have stated our position that after the battle, discussions will take place regarding the prisoners.

“We do not see a future for this battle except victory.”“This is What Happened in the First Three Hours of ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’: Saleh al-Arouri Reveals,” Palestine Chronicle, October 12, 2023, https://www.palestinechronicle.com/this-is-what-happened-in-the-first-three-hours-of-al-aqsa-flood-saleh-al-arouri-reveals/.

“For more than seven decades, the world has witnessed the Israeli occupation and its fascist government’s awful attacks against the Palestinian people, children, women, and elderly people.

“The world has seen how the Israeli occupation continues to colonize Palestinian lands, Judaize Palestinian territories, establish settlements, desecrate Muslim and Christian places, kill Palestinians in cold blood, insult Palestinian women, and attack Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails. All of these crimes happened amid international silence, and therefore the occupation escalated its terrorism and aggression until the Israeli occupation crimes became too aggravated.”Hamas Online, Telegram, October 9, 2023.

“Today, our fighters managed to capture a large number of prisoners from the enemy forces and bring them to the Gaza Strip. Our fighters managed to reach the Mavki’im area and engaged in fierce clashes that resulted in the killing and injury of a significant number of enemy forces.”Eyad Kourdi, Ibrahim Dahman, and Jonny Hallam, “Hamas claims to have taken more Israeli hostages Sunday,” CNN, October 8, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-gaza-attack-10-08-23/h_1701ce668036414bc9e55a28d54f364d.

In an interview with Al Jazeera following Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel that day:

“We will continue to fight until we are rewarded with victory, freedom and independence.”“Hamas says it has enough Israeli captives to free all Palestinian prisoners,” Al Jazeera, October 7, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/7/hamas-says-it-has-enough-israeli-captives-to-free-all-palestinian-prisoners.

In an interview with Al Jazeera following Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel that day:

“This is not a [hit-and-run] operation; we started an all-out battle. We expect fighting to continue and the fighting front to expand. We have one prime target: our freedom and the freedom of our holy sites.”“Hamas says it has enough Israeli captives to free all Palestinian prisoners,” Al Jazeera, October 7, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/7/hamas-says-it-has-enough-israeli-captives-to-free-all-palestinian-prisoners.

In an interview with Al Jazeera following Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel that day:

“We managed to kill and capture many Israeli soldiers. The fighting is still on. Our detainees in [Israeli] prisons, their freedom is looming large. What we have in our hands will release all our prisoners. The longer fighting continues, the higher the number of prisoners will become.”“Hamas says it has enough Israeli captives to free all Palestinian prisoners,” Al Jazeera, October 7, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/7/hamas-says-it-has-enough-israeli-captives-to-free-all-palestinian-prisoners.

“Enough is enough, the cycle of intifadas and revolutions in the battle to liberate our Palestinian land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons must be completed.”Matt Drake, “How Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh watched attack on Israel on TV from his office in Qatar as he celebrated with other officials,” Daily Mail (London), October 8, 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12608271/How-Hamas-leader-Ismail-Haniyeh-watched-attack-Israel-TV-office-Qatar-celebrated-officials.html.

“Our righteous mujahideen, this is your day to make the enemy understand that his time is over. They attacked and desecrated Al-Aqsa, and we had previously warned them.”Seth J. Frantzman, “Hamas terror commander Deif calls for all out war on Israel,” Jerusalem Post, October 7, 2023, https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-762052.

Post on X, formerly Twitter, of a Yemeni rally in support of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel:

“Mass gatherings of our great Yemeni people to support and bless the blessed operation #طوفان_الأقصى carried out by the struggling Palestinian resistance against the usurping Zionist entity.” (Tweet)Yahya Sarea, Twitter post, October 7, 2023, 3:25 p.m., https://twitter.com/army21ye/status/1710738250594210300.

“Thirty years have passed since the so-called Oslo Accords, which were orchestrated to serve the Israeli occupation and its settler colonial project. These agreements have inflicted nothing but more suffering, agony, and tragedies upon the Palestinian people.

“Given the devastating aftermath of these accords, which have manifested in the loss of Palestinian lives, forced displacements, abductions, the occupation and seizure of our historic lands, and the ongoing efforts to Judaise Muslim and Christian holy sites, and in the midst of the escalating aggression and atrocities perpetrated by the Israeli occupation government against the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas states the following:

“First: The Palestinian people's unwavering support for the resistance project conveys a clear message that resistance and struggle are the only way to achieve liberation and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“Second: We reiterate our firm stance against all agreements that compromise our principles and national rights and call on the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) to recognise the failure of the "Oslo" accords and terminate them.

“Third: We also call on the PLO to withdraw recognition of the Israeli occupation entity and work towards restructuring the Palestinian house and achieving national unity.”“Statement on 30th anniversary of infamous ‘Oslo Accords,’” Hamas, September 13, 2023, https://hamas.ps/en/post/4929/Statement-on-30th-anniversary-of-infamous-Oslo-Accords.