One of the leaders of Hamas, Ali Barakeh, has stated that fighters of the Palestinian movement will release foreign hostages in exchange for a five-day ceasefire. This announcement was reported by the Financial Times.
According to Barakeh, additional conditions will be presented for the release of Israeli civilians.
Barakeh emphasized that Hamas will not release the captured Israeli soldiers and will keep them for prisoner exchanges.
Previously, a member of the political bureau and head of the external relations department of Hamas, Musa Abu Marzook, stated that the movement is ready to release all captured civilians, but intense bombardments of the Gaza Strip by Israel prevent this, as the hostages cannot be freed without a ceasefire.
On October 7, the forces of Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israeli territory and declared the start of the “Flood of Al-Aqsa” operation. Thousands of militants entered Israeli territory, capturing dozens of military vehicles and over a hundred hostages. Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that the country is in a state of war.
The Israeli Defense Forces’ counter-operation is named “Iron Swords,” with one of its goals being the destruction of Hamas. The Israeli Air Force has struck hundreds of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli National Security Council has decided to halt the supply of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel to the sector. On October 13, Israel informed the United Nations that 1.1 million Palestinians must be evacuated to the south of Gaza within 24 hours in anticipation of a ground operation in Gaza.
Earlier, a political analyst cited one of the reasons for the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
