GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said on Wednesday that Israel had effectively declared war by labeling the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip an "enemy entity".
"It is a declaration of war and continues the criminal, terrorist Zionist actions against our people," said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas in the coastal enclave.
Israel's security cabinet declaration on Wednesday that Gaza was an "enemy entity" opened the way for cuts in fuel and other supplies to the territory, an Israeli political source said.
"They aim to starve our people and force them to accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference," Barhoum said, referring to a U.S.-sponsored meeting expected to be held in two months.
Militants in Gaza regularly fire rockets into Israel and Israeli forces have raided the enclave, from which the Jewish state evacuated troops and settlers two years ago.
Hamas forces, which seized control of Gaza in June after fighting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's secular Fatah faction, have been bracing for a broader Israeli offensive, particularly since a rocket struck an Israeli army base last week, wounding some three dozen soldiers.
"If Israel resorts to military action against Gaza we will be ready to confront them. We will not surrender and we will fight together with all our people," Barhoum said.
Map of the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli government has declared the Gaza Strip an "enemy entity" due to the continued firing of rockets into Israel from Gaza. Gaza's ruling Hamas party has stated that it considers the announcement a "declaration of war." 

The definition means that Israel could stop supplying Gaza with fuel, electricity and other commodities.

"Following extensive legal consultations, Israel has decided to declare Gaza as a hostile entity, with all the international implications. This move will prepare the groundwork for sanctions against Gaza, such as the interruption of gas, electricity and water supply, which will occur in a gradual process," said an unnamed Israeli government official.

Ehud Barak, the Israeli Minister of Defense said the "objective is to weaken Hamas" , while Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum suggested "...they aim to starve our people and force them to accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference," 

Barak also said that Israel is considering a military operation in the Gaza Strip saying that "every day that passes brings us closer to an operation in Gaza."

The democratically-elected Hamas party, and its militant wing the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, have been labeled "foreign terrorist organization"s by a number of bodies including the European Union, Israel, the United States, Canada and others.