World Bulletin/News Desk

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has dismissed statements by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon in which the latter threatened to launch a fresh military offensive against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

"We don't pay any attention to such laughable remarks," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a Thursday statement.

Ya'alon's remarks, he asserted, "are aimed at offsetting the impact of the Israeli army's recent defeat in the Gaza Strip."

On Tuesday, Ya'alon said that the Israeli army could be "forced" to launch another attack on the coastal enclave.

On July 7, Israel began a 51-day offensive on the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

By the time the offensive ended on August 26 – with the signing of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions – more than 2,160 Gazans had been killed, mostly civilians, and nearly 11,000 others injured.

At least 72 Israelis – 67 soldiers and five civilians – were also killed during the seven-week-long conflict.