Hamas: Expansion of assault to West Bank result of 'suspicious international silence'

Hamas accused Israel of expanding its "brutal war of extermination" from the Gaza Strip to cover the cities, towns and camps of the occupied West Bank with the latest major assault. 

The Palestinian movement said the escalation was the "result of the suspicious international silence" in the face of the "flagrant violations of all international laws and its deliberate targeting of defenceless civilians with the intent of extermination and displacement" by Israel. 

It said the attack on the West Bank was an attempt to implement the extremist plans of the Israeli government, expressed by its fascist ministers, against Palestinians in the occupied territory. 

"The criminal enemy, through its successive fascist governments, has tried for decades to suppress the resistance of our people in the West Bank by all means, without succeeding," Hamas said in a statement.

"Its current criminal military campaign will inevitably be broken by the steadfastness and determination of our people and the determination of our brave youth and resistance fighters."