Former member of the Israeli security cabinet Gadi Eizenkot warned that an Israeli occupation army invasion of Gaza City would not lead to an immediate victory over Hamas, according to a report published Saturday by Israel Hayom.

Eizenkot described the idea of storming Gaza City as a “strategic folly,” arguing that “the Israeli army today is under unsuitable leadership.” His remarks came amid continued debate within the Israeli regime over the course of its military campaign against the Palestinian resistance movement.

Earlier, the Israeli occupation forces' Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, acknowledged that Hamas “cannot be defeated militarily or politically, even after an operation to occupy Gaza City,” according to the Israeli Channel 12.

Hamas warns of 'new chapter of genocide'

The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, stated on Tuesday that the occupation's expansion of its operation in Gaza City constitutes a "new chapter in the war of genocide and systematic ethnic cleansing" against the people of the Gaza Strip.

In an official press release, the movement noted that "these crimes, which have surpassed all international norms and laws, are being carried out with the overt political and military cover of the American administration."

It called on the international community to adopt responsible and decisive decisions and positions that are commensurate with the "scale of these massacres" and to force the occupation to end the war. Hamas also called upon Arab and Islamic nations, as well as the people of the world, to shoulder their historical, moral, and humanitarian responsibilities toward Gaza and its people. 

Concluding its statement, Hamas held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the lives of the captives still held in the Strip.

'Gaza to be graveyard of Israeli soldiers'

The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has issued a stark warning to the military and political leadership of the Israeli entity, asserting that Gaza will not be an easy battleground for what the occupation's "cowardly army."

In the statement, the brigades declared, “We do not fear you. We are prepared to send your soldiers' souls to hell. We have built an army of martyrs, prepared thousands of ambushes and explosive devices, and Gaza will be the graveyard of your soldiers.”

The Resistance warned that the occupation is engaged in a brutal war of attrition that will only lead to more casualties and captives on its side.

“Our mujahideen have been trained to place explosive devices inside your military vehicles. Your bulldozers will become primary targets, and a path to increasing the number of captives we hold.”