Palestinian resilience foils Israeli plans in Gaza, politician says after cease-fire
Mustafa Barghouti says cease-fire achieved 'thanks to steadfastness and heroism of Palestinian people'

RAMALLAH, Palestine
The Palestinian resilience in Gaza has failed Israeli plans to uproot the resistance and return hostages by military force, a Palestinian politician said on Thursday.
Qatar announced on Wednesday a cease-fire agreement to end over 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the 3-phase deal will be effective on Sunday.
The deal includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
"The cease-fire agreement was achieved thanks to the steadfastness and heroism of the Palestinian people," Mustafa Barghouti, head of the National Initiative Movement, said in a statement.
He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government “failed to achieve their aggressive goals due to the steadfastness and courage of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
“The (Israeli) occupation forces failed to carry out ethnic cleansing, uproot the Palestinian resistance, gain control over Gaza, or return Israeli hostages by military force.”
Barghouti warned of escalating Israeli attacks in Gaza before the cease-fire agreement takes effect on Sunday.
At least 71 Palestinians were killed, including 24 women and 19 children, and over 200 others injured since the cease-fire announcement, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense Service.
Barghouti called for bolstering Palestinian national unity “to repel any attempts to maintain the (Israeli) occupation or impose external dictates on the Palestinian people in collusion with the occupation.”
More than 46,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children were killed and over 110,000 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.
The war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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