Zahhar: Hamas Committed to Truce with Occupier As Long As Occupier Committed

"We declare our commitment to respecting the truce between us and the occupier, in case it respects the truce as well" Zahhar told a gathering in the Gaza town of Khan Younis.

"Despite the sacrifices, we announce that we continue to respect the truce," said Zahhar, who is considered the most influential Hamas leader in Gaza.
Zahhar added "This truce is in fact a sign of strength and readiness to sacrifice, it is not a sign of weakness."

He called on "Israel" to reciprocate and "stop incursions [into Gaza], halt killings of Palestinians and lift the blockade" imposed on the coastal enclave.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, says it has observed a de facto truce with Israel since the January 2009 end of a 22-day "Israeli" offensive on the strip aimed at halting rocket fire by Palestinian militants.

Attacks have since been considerably reduced but more than 200 rockets and shells, most of them homemade, have been fired into "Israel" since early 2010, according to the "Israeli" military.

More radical groups have since last Sunday targeted southern "Israel" with 23 rounds of mortar fire and three rockets, one of which slightly wounded a small girl, the military said.

"Israel", which holds Hamas to account, has urged the UN Security Council to issue a "clear and resolute" message to militants against firing rockets into its territory from Gaza, in a letter made public Wednesday.