The Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, a military wing of the ruling Hamas movement, has a well-organized army with an estimated force of more than 10,000 fighters, a spokesman for the group said on Sunday.

“If the Israeli enemy thinks al-Qassam has (only) 7,000 fighters, we tell them we have twice as much as this number,” saidAbu Obaida, spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, in response to Israeli reports that Hamas has an army of 7,500 militants in the Gaza Strip.

The spokesman declined to confirm that Hamas had Russian-made Katyusha rockets, but said that “al-Qassam Brigades has been preparing a great force to counter the enemy.”

He also said that the ongoing blockade on the Palestinian territories did not affect Hamas’ ability of obtaining weapons.

“Hamas depends on home manufacturing of weapons and also can bring weapons into the Gaza Strip by its own ways,” he said. Enditem