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The Jerusalem Post

Hamas calls to escalate war with Israel ahead of ceasefire, hostage deal

 
Fire burns after an explosion in north Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 23, 2023 (photo credit: REUTERS/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO)
Fire burns after an explosion in north Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, November 23, 2023
(photo credit: REUTERS/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO)

The comments were made on the evening before a ceasefire is meant to start.

The spokesman of Hamas' armed wing called on Thursday for the escalation of the confrontation with Israel on all resistance fronts.

"We call for escalation of the confrontation with the occupation throughout the West Bank and all resistance fronts" the spokesman for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaida, said in a video speech aired by Al Jazeera TV.

The ceasefire and hostage deal

Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas will start a four-day truce on Friday morning with the first group of 13 Israeli women and child hostages released later that day, mediators in Qatar said.

The agreement - the first in a brutal, near seven-week-old war - would begin at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and involve a comprehensive ceasefire in north and south Gaza, Qatar's foreign ministry said.

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People walk next to pictures of civilians held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Jerusalem, November 22, 2023 (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
People walk next to pictures of civilians held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Jerusalem, November 22, 2023 (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

Some aid would start flowing into Gaza and the first hostages including elderly women would be freed at 4 p.m., with the total number rising to 50 over the four days, ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said in the Qatari capital Doha.

It was expected Palestinians would be released from Israeli jail, he told reporters. "We all hope that this truce will lead to a chance to start a wider work to achieve a permanent truce."

Hamas - which had been expected to declare a truce with Israel a day earlier on Thursday only for negotiations to drag on - confirmed on its Telegram channel that all hostilities from its forces would cease.

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