CAIRO, November 5. /TASS/. The Islamic Jihad radical Palestinian movement has said that it will release foreign hostages if an agreement on temporary truce in the Gaza Strip with Israel is reached, Al Arabiya TV channel reported.
"We will release foreign civil hostages if a temporary truce agreement is reached," the channel quoted radicals as saying.
The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on November 2 that at least 242 hostages were being held in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest data obtained by the IDF.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking more than 200 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.