CBNNews.com - GAZA STRIP - Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar spurred on Hamas operatives "to crush" Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops who have entered the Gaza Strip.

"We must be patient until we are victorious. Allah will help us," al-Zahar told Hamas fighters, in a speech broadcast by the terror group's al-Aksa television.

"[Israelis] have legitimized the killing of their children by killing our children," he said.

"They have legitimized the killing of their people all over the world by killing our people," al-Zahar said. "Crush your enemy," he said.

"The rockets launched by resistance [sic] fighters have broken Israel's security perceptions," the Hamas leader said, promising that the group would destroy Israeli synagogues and schools, as IAF (Israel Air Force) air strikes destroyed mosques in the Gaza Strip.

In the first week of the Operation Cast Lead, the IAF destroyed at least two mosques in Gaza, which served as weapons and munitions warehouses and meeting places for planning terror attacks.

According to media reports, it was difficult to tell if al-Zahar's speech was taped, though he reportedly went into hiding days after the Gaza op began, along with Ismail Haniyeh and Said Siam.