Nearly a year since the end of a devastating 51-day war and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza are stronger than ever, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh asserted on Wednesday. 

Speaking during a tour of Rafah, Palestinian media reported, Haniyeh claimed that Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades military wing is more powerful and prepared for protecting Gaza from "Zionist" threats than ever before. 

Haniyeh said upcoming days would bring "good news to the people of Gaza," before praising the recent flotilla attempt to violate Israel's blockade of the coastal enclave. 

The IDF's interception of the flotilla "reveals the aggressive nature of the Zionist regime," he argued, before accusing Israel of standing in the way of an "important step in breaking the blockade on Gaza." 

Haniyeh's comments come just after Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen warned the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Hamas is already nearly prepared to launch another terror war against Israel. 

Cohen confirmed suspicions on Tuesday that since the end of Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has been accelerating its military preparations for another confrontation with the Jewish state.

Those preparations consist of Hamas rebuilding its terror attack tunnels leading into Israel, developing domestically produced missiles, increasing drills and training on land, sea and air, as well as continued efforts to receive military aid from Iran.

However, Cohen said, Hamas is not ready at the present moment to launch another war against Israel.