Gaza terror groups launch first joint drill, fire rockets into sea as ‘message’
Hamas closes down main streets of Gaza City for exercise conducted with Islamic Jihad and smaller Gaza factions, breathlessly covered by local media
Hamas and other Gaza terror groups held a joint military drill on Tuesday morning during which several rockets were fired toward the sea, in an effort to send a “clear message to the Zionist enemy.”
“We will not accept the aggression of the enemy against our people, and our weapons are ready. We are prepared to enter any confrontation imposed upon us at any time and place,” a masked spokesperson for the so-called Chamber of Joint Factions told a group of Gaza-based journalists at a press conference.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and several smaller terror factions in the Gaza Strip participated in the exercise, in an unprecedented PR exercise.
The Hamas Interior Ministry closed down major thoroughfares in Gaza City as part of the drill, which was covered breathlessly by media controlled by the terror group.
“These blessed rockets, developed by faithful Palestinian hands… are a glittering symbol of Palestinian unity,” enthused a Hamas broadcaster on official Al-Aqsa TV.
In addition to the rockets, the Gaza terror groups flew drones over the coastal enclave.
“Even the announcement of the drill itself is a clear message to the Zionist enemy,” Haytham Abu al-Ghazlan, a spokesperson for Islamic Jihad, said in an interview with Hamas media.
Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it expelled its rival Fatah following a bloody struggle for control of the coastal enclave. Israel has fought three large campaigns against terror groups in the Strip since Hamas took control of the area, along with dozens of smaller exchanges of fire.
