GAZA CITY, Aug 3: A political leader of Hamas said over the weekend that the group’s militants were capable of following through on threats to kill 100 Israelis for every one of its leaders slain.

“We killed 76 Israelis in just a few days after the assassination of Yehya Ayash,” said Abdel Aziz Rantissi, recalling a wave of suicide attacks after Ayash, a Hamas military leader known as “the engineer”, was liquidated by Israel in 1996.

According to Israel’s foreign ministry, 59 people were killed in the revenge attacks carried out in the name of Ayash.

Hamas already claimed Wednesday’s blast at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, which left seven people dead, in reprisal for the assassination of the group’s military chief, Salah Shehade, 10 days before when an Israeli F-16 dropped a one-tonne bomb on Gaza City.

Rantissi said the use of explosives in the Jerusalem attack rather than that of a human bomber did not indicate “a change of strategy” and that “similar operations had been carried out before.”

He also said he did not foresee an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip despite Israel’s wish to strike the Hamas leadership which is based there.

“Getting into Gaza is no easy journey, the resistance here is very strong and Israel knows that,” said Rantissi, explaining what he labelled Israel’s “hesitancy” to re-occupy Gaza.

As to whether Hamas, which reportedly considered stopping its attacks on Israeli civilians before Shehade was slain, would be ready to call a truce in the near future, Rantissi said: “As long as Israel kills, deports and detains our people, we will continue our struggle.”

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, on Thursday threatened to kill 100 Israelis in retaliation for any fresh attack against one of its leaders.—AFP