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.

“The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas rejects UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ labeling of Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation as ‘violence’.

“Hamas confirms that such a misnomer is not compatible with a genuine human right – i.e. the right to self-defense against the aggression inflicted by an occupying power. This right to self-defense is a legitimate right in consonance with international laws and norms.

“The Palestinian people will never abolish such a right and will continue to fight the Israeli occupation and its Judaisation schemes until they liberate their homeland.

“The Palestinian resistance movement affirms that the terms ‘violence’ and ‘terrorism’ apply exclusively to the Israeli occupation and fascist colonial settlers, who bear full responsibility for escalating the situation, disrupting the lives of the Palestinian people, and denying them their national rights.”“Hamas rejects UN chief labeling Palestinian resistance as ‘violence,’” Hamas, September 14, 2023, https://hamas.ps/en/post/4931/Hamas-rejects-UN-chief-labeling-Palestinian-resistance-as-violence.

“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.

“The armed resistance is the only way for Palestinians to liberate their historical lands and declare their own independent State. We will force Israel to evacuate the West Bank and all the occupied Palestinian Territories.”Sally Ibrahim, “Various Palestinian armed groups hold joint military exercise in Gaza to ‘simulate war with Israel,’” New Arab, September 12, 2023, https://www.newarab.com/news/palestinian-armed-groups-hold-military-exercise-gaza.

“Hamas has a vision that Resistance is the solution to confront the occupation, but our brother Abou Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] insists on international legitimacy and international institutions and rejects Resistance.”“Exclusive - Al Arouri: Resistance Axis preparing for all-out war,” Al Mayadeen, August 25, 2023, https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/exclusive---al-arouri:-resistance-axis-preparing-for-all-out.

“We are preparing for an all-out war, and we are closely discussing the prospects of this war with all relevant parties. The all-out war will be a defeat for Israel, and we see that classical wars have changed, and this is evidenced by the conflict in Ukraine.”“Exclusive - Al Arouri: Resistance Axis preparing for all-out war,” Al Mayadeen, August 25, 2023, https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/exclusive---al-arouri:-resistance-axis-preparing-for-all-out.

“If we reach the point of an all-out confrontation, Israel will face an unprecedented defeat in its history, and we are confident of that.”“Exclusive - Al Arouri: Resistance Axis preparing for all-out war,” Al Mayadeen, August 25, 2023, https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/exclusive---al-arouri:-resistance-axis-preparing-for-all-out.