GAZA, Oct 8 — Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, told fellow Arab countries yesterday that Israel cannot provide them with any protection despite recent diplomatic rapprochements.

Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years yesterday, killing dozens of people and taking hostages in a surprise assault that combined gunmen crossing into Israel with a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.

Israel said the Iran-backed group had declared war as its army confirmed fighting with militants in several Israeli towns and military bases near Gaza, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate.

In a televised speech, Haniyeh addressed the Arab countries that have normalised ties with Israel in recent years.

"We say to all countries, including our Arab brothers, that this entity, which cannot protect itself in the face of resistors, cannot provide you with any protection,” he said.

"All the normalisation agreements that you signed with that entity cannot resolve this (Palestinian) conflict.”

In 2020, Israel reached normalisation with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and upgraded ties with Morocco and Sudan, despite talks with the Palestinians being frozen for years.

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Israel are also engaged in US-mediated talks to normalise relations, a prospect that drew condemnation from some Palestinian factions.

Haniyeh also said armed Palestinian factions intend to expand the ongoing battle in Gaza to the West Bank and Jerusalem. "The battle moved into the heart of the ‘zionist entity’” he said. — Reuters