ISTANBUL

Ismail Haniyeh, the political bureau chief of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, warned Thursday about the consequences of the continuation of the Israeli war against Gaza.

The war “will put the entire region out of control,” Haniyeh said in a televised statement aired by Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV.

He said after 20 days of fighting in Gaza, the resistance “is very well.”

Haniyeh affirmed that all resistance groups in Palestine, including Hamas, “are national liberation movements,” when one considers that “terrorism is the occupier, those who support it, and those who remain silent about the massacres.”

"The continuation of the aggression against Gaza will put the entire region out of control. Indeed, today the region has become a hot tin roof, and no one can predict its directions or outcome," he said.

The Hamas chief demanded the opening of all crossings, especially Rafah, to allow access to everything Gaza needs “without restrictions or conditions.”

Haniyeh also urged “everyone, all the free people of the world, and all friendly, brotherly, and allied countries, to exert all the required pressure in all forums and in all directions to stop the aggression against Gaza, and to stop this war against our children, women, elders, mosques, universities, and homes.”

He also urged all presidents, leaders and opinion-makers to affirm, clearly and explicitly, the legitimacy of the resistance in Palestine and the legitimacy of Hamas.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat