Israeli army: Many tunnels will be destroyed after the end of the ceasefire

2023-11-24 22:08:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Israeli military said that "we have reached" the heart of the assets of Hamas, the Palestinian group declared a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

An Israeli military spokesman said on November 24 that once the ceasefire, expected to last four days, ends, active fighting will resume.

"We still have many targets and many tunnels to destroy, including some that we destroyed this morning, before the ceasefire started," Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters.

Hamas is believed to have a massive network of underground tunnels in Gaza, which allow the group to transport weapons, supplies and also the movement of fighters.

Hagar spoke on the first day of the ceasefire, when Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners.

The truce will be in effect until Monday, unless other Israeli hostages are released.

Hagari said that the Israeli army will not allow civilians in Gaza to return to their homes in the northern part of this territory. During the four days of the ceasefire, 50 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, during attacks in southern Israel, are expected to be released.

Israel will also release 150 Palestinians over four days as part of the deal.

During the October 7 attacks in southern Israel, Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took nearly 240 hostages.

As a result of Israeli retaliatory attacks, at least 13,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip - inhabited by 2.3 million inhabitants.

The ceasefire on Friday offered some relief to Gazans, who have faced weeks of relentless Israeli bombardment, and to families in Israel who fear the fate of loved ones taken hostage during the attack. of October 7 by Hamas.

Under the deal, Israel will release three Palestinians for every hostage released by Hamas. The release of the hostages by the radical Palestinian group will take place in stages over the next four days.

The agreement on the ceasefire and the release of hostages and prisoners was reached days ago, after weeks of tense indirect negotiations, as Qatar, the United States and Egypt served as mediators./ Rel