Jerusalem ? Hamas militants released a videotape Saturday purportedly showing a bombmaker, believed to top Israel’s most-wanted list, celebrating the Gaza Strip pullout as a victory for armed resistance.

Senior Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who masterminded the deaths of dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings, also urged the destruction of the Jewish state. It was the latest call for continued violence by Hamas officials as the group refocuses its armed struggle on the West Bank, where most of Israel’s 246,000 settlers live.

“You are leaving Gaza today in shame,” Deif said in comments directed toward Israel, which finished evacuating the last of its 21 Gaza settlements Monday. “Today you are leaving hell. But we promise you that tomorrow all Palestine will be hell for you, God willing.”

In the tape, Deif praised the armed struggle against Israel. Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis since violence resumed in 2000.

Palestinians gather in front of a building hung with a banner of Hamas militants Saturday in Khan Younis, in central Gaza Strip. Hamas released Saturday a videotape of a shadowy senior commander who has eluded Israeli forces for more than a decade, taking another shot in a Palestinian power struggle over who should get credit for Israel's pullout from Gaza.

“We did not achieve the liberation of the Gaza Strip without this holy war and this steadfastness,” he said, adding that attacks should continue until Israel is eradicated.

Israel’s obliteration is Hamas’ ultimate goal.

Deif, known for operating in the shadows, has eluded Israeli security forces for more than a decade, surviving at least two assassination attempts, including a 2002 missile attack in which he lost an eye.

There was no way to positively identify the figure on the videotape as Deif, because his face was in silhouette. He has been in hiding since 1992 and the only known photos of him were taken in the 1980s.

But the high quality of the video, which was stamped with the logo of the Hamas military wing, as well as the similarity of the voice to previous recordings, indicated the tape was authentic.

Hamas would not say when the tape was made. But it had boasted for nearly two weeks that Deif would make a public statement, and militants delivered the tape to The Associated Press offices in Gaza City.

In this photo released by militant group Hamas, a Palestinian, identifying himself as fugitive bombmaker Mohammed Deif, is seen during a rare video address made available Saturday in Gaza City, in the Gaza Strip.

Gideon Meir, an Israeli Foreign Ministry senior official, said Deif’s comments threatened to sour the climate of good will that the Gaza pullout created.

“The disengagement opened a prospect of hope for the Palestinian people and Mohammed Deif is trying to spoil the show,” Meir said. “His declaration proves again why the Palestinian Authority must fulfill its duty and fight the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades.”

Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, a spokesman for the Palestinian Interior Ministry, which oversees security in Palestinian-controlled areas, said Hamas remains committed to a cease-fire Israel and the Palestinians declared in February.

“It wasn’t secret that a Hamas military wing in Gaza exists, and Mohammed Deif is still alive,” he said. “All Palestinian factions are committed to the truce, including Hamas.”