Hamas Military Wing Says Israel Needs to Stop Aggression to Return Hostages Alive
20231221
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - If Israel wants to return the hostages alive then it needs to stop its aggression, the military wing of Palestinian movement Hamas, Al Qassam Brigades, spokesman Abu Obaida said on Thursday.
"If the enemy [Israel] and its people want to get their hostages alive, they have no choice but to stop the aggression and start negotiations through known channels with the help of intermediaries," Obaida said in a video message broadcast by Al-Jazeera.
On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, while its fighters breached the border, opening fire on the military and civilians. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 20,000 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar-mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1.
© Sputnik
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