The Islamic Jihad vows that the Israeli regime's recent massacre of the Palestinian resistance movement's commanders and their family members will be met with a matching response.
Nasser Abu Sharif, the resistance group's representative in Iran, made the comments in an interview with Press TV on Tuesday.
"It is a heinous crime. This is a massive crime against innocent people, against humanity, against all our people, and, therefore, this requires that there be retaliation, which is to the level of this massacre," he said.
The remarks came hours after Israeli airstrikes against the Gaza Strip, where the movement is headquartered, killed at least 15 people, including three of the movement's senior commanders as well as their wives and children.
Abu-Sharif warned that all Palestinian resistance factions were to join each other in delivering the response to the bloodletting.
"There will be a united retaliation and a comprehensive retaliation," he said, adding, "The retaliation is expected to be a very strong retaliation."
He noted that the Israeli regime was already bracing itself for the reprisal.
"They have called for their people to stay close to shelters, and they are ready for any response, and they are ready for any retaliation," the envoy said.
Abu-Sharif noted that the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah had pledged to support the Palestinian resistance's retaliatory efforts.
"Hezbollah has said that they support this, and they continue to support especially the coordination room among the factions of resistance in Palestine."
Asked if there were any room for negotiation with the occupying regime towards a resolution of the situation, Abu-Sharif said, "Absolutely not...since the Israelis have continued this aggression and have closed all the phone lines in the face of the mediators."
Hamas, the Islamic Jihad's fellow Gaza-based resistance movement, has likewise strongly condemned the bloodshed, identifying it as a grave miscalculation for which the regime would have to pay a hefty price.
"Assassinating the leaders in a treacherous operation will not bring security to the occupier, but rather more resistance," said Ismail Haniyeh, head of the movement's Political Bureau.