Ma'an/Agencies -- A Hamas leader early on Sunday morning denied reports that armed groups affiliated with the Islamic movement had been killed by invading Israeli forces. Appearing on Al-Jazeera just after midnight on Sunday, Mousa Mohammad Abu Marzook claimed that "there are casualties, but they are of the people of the Gaza Strip, not us."The Qatar-based network had reported Israeli claims that up to 13 Hamas fighters were dead. "We're defending our people, defending ourselves against this aggression," Abu Marzook insisted, noting that Israel has "the upper hand" in the ongoing conflict.
"We know they have the upper hand in the air and sea, but we know our land. We know ourselves very well," he added. "We will fight."
"We will fight the Israelis anywhere in the Gaza Strip, Abu Marzook warned, "the rights of the Palestinian people cannot be turned off."
On the prospect of a ceasefire, Abu Marzook said Hamas would consider it under certain circumstances. "If there is a ceasefire, if the gates are opened, we would deal with this kind of initiative."
"Discussions in the area (Gaza) at the moment are that France or Turkey could achieve a ceasefire," he said.
And commenting on reports from Israel that Hamas is using civilians as human shields, the Hamas leader rejected that civilians in Gaza have the means to protect themselves no matter where they are, saying, "We have no shelters; we have crowded refugee camps."
Finally, Abu Marzook denied reports that Arab countries had pressured Hamas to stop rocket fire. "Everyone is calling on Israel to stop their aggression," he noted.