Hamas, the Iran-backed terrorist organization that started the ongoing war in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, and still holds 101 Israeli hostages, said Wednesday that it also wants a ceasefire, as a deal in Lebanon took effect.
Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terror group in Lebanon that started firing at Israel on October 8 in solidarity with Hamas, reached a deal that took effect Wednesday morning. Once, Hezbollah vowed that it would not sign any ceasefire deal with Israel unless the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) left Gaza. But Hezbollah, suffering losses after the IDF stepped up the battle in September, decided to sign a separate deal, leaving Hamas to face the IDF without help.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
Hamas has signaled its readiness for a truce in the Gaza Strip following Israel’s signing of a ceasefire with Lebanon, AFP reported on Wednesday morning, citing a Hamas official.
“We have informed mediators in Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey that Hamas is ready for a ceasefire agreement and a serious deal to exchange prisoners,” the official told AFP.
The official, however, reportedly accused Israel of obstructing an agreement.
Hamas has rejected any deal that would allow the IDF to continue fighting it in Gaza. Last month, for example, it rejected a deal in which it would free the hostages in exchange for free passage for its remaining leaders out of Gaza.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
