Truce to be broken if occupation does not fall in line: PIJ chief

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The Israeli occupation was hard at work toward reaching a ceasefire agreement, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Secretary-General Ziyad Al-Nakhalah said on Sunday.

"I salute the Palestinian people who confronted the aggression with steadfastness," Al-Nakhalah said. "I bow before the martyrs and hail the Arab and Islamic people that stood with us in solidarity."

"The Palestinian people realized a major achievement in the face of the aggression, especially Al-Quds Brigades," he stressed while underlining that the PIJ was launched to defend the unity of the Palestinian people and the battlefields throughout occupied Palestine.

The PIJ "remained steadfast and strong, stronger than ever. You saw how Al-Quds Brigades made major strides [...] 58 settlements were simultaneously in the crosshairs of Al-Quds Brigades."

"The occupation was pressured by the resistance, and it was imposed upon [Tel Aviv] to release prisoner Khalil Awawdeh and Sheikh Bassam Al-Saadi," the Palestinian resistance leader added. "The occupation was unable to impose any condition on us."

"The enemy is the party that strongly sought to reach a ceasefire agreement, and we are the ones who stipulated the release of Al-Saadi and Awawdeh," Al-Nakhalah revealed. "If the enemy does not abide by our conditions, we will consider the agreement void and we will resume fighting again."

"If the blockaded Gaza Strip subjugated the occupation, what do you think the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon will be able to do with its capabilities?" he said, lauding Hezbollah.

"The resistance in Palestine has peoples and countries that support it, just as the United States supports Israel," the PIJ chief said, thanking "the Iranian people and the state of Iran for their support of the Palestinian people."

"For 50 hours of fighting, we insisted on establishing the equation that the resistance has the upper hand, and the enemy has failed to break the Palestinian Islamic Jihad."

"What has been achieved is a victory for the Palestinian people, and we will protect this achievement," he stressed.

"The slogan 'Unity of the Battlefields', despite its simplicity, is of immense gravity, and we fought to protect it," Al-Nakhalah underlined.

The resistance chief affirmed the unity of the resistance factions. "We, the brothers in Hamas, and the rest of the resistance factions are in a constant agreement, and the enemy will not be able to drive a wedge between us."

"Hamas did not participate in the battle, but it is the backbone of the cradle of resistance, and we will preserve our unity."

Al Mayadeen's source reported that there was a ceasefire agreement reached in the Gaza Strip. The sources noted that the agreement was reached with the Israeli occupation agreeing to the PIJ's demands in full.

The Israeli occupation began on August 5 with aggression on the Gaza Strip on Friday, and Al-Quds Brigades announced that Taiseer Al-Jaabari, a military commander in the northern Gaza Strip, had been martyred.

Consequently, Al-Quds Brigades launched an operation in response to the Israeli occupation's aggression on the Gaza Strip, by launching salvoes of rockets toward the occupied Palestinian territories.

Our correspondent reported that the death toll of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has reached 31 martyrs and more than 220 wounded since Friday afternoon.

The latest tally, however, shows that 41 Palestinians have been martyred so far, with 311 others wounded.