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