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Asaib Ahl al-Haq Takes to Baghdad Streets in Show of Force

An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
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Asaib Ahl al-Haq Takes to Baghdad Streets in Show of Force

An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo
An Iraqi security officer walks near the "Arch of Victory" memorial in the Green Zone of Baghdad, Iraq July 15, 2019. Reuters file photo

Gunmen believed to be belonging to Asaib Ahl al-Haq group, headed by Qais al-Khazali, took to the streets of Baghdad on Friday to protest the arrest of suspects in rocket attacks.

As the gunmen resorted to the streets of the Iraqi capital in a show of force, it was reported that the authorities released the suspects after the mediation of high-ranking figures.

Reports said that the arrests were linked to a rocket attack near Baghdad airport two months ago, which left seven members of the same family dead.

Two units of special forces were deployed near vital areas in Baghdad on Friday after cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for the announcement of a state of emergency and the deployment of the army instead of armed factions.

The head of the parliamentary security and defense committee, MP Mohammed Rida Haidar, said he backed Sadr’s call because the capital needs the army to control areas used by certain groups to target embassies in the Green Zone.

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Hamas Official Says Group Open to Freeing Hostages, Five-Year Truce in Gaza

08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
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Hamas Official Says Group Open to Freeing Hostages, Five-Year Truce in Gaza

08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)
08 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Deir al-Balah: Fighter of the Ezzeddine al-Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas hand over Israeli Hostages Or Levy (R), Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the fifth batch of the first phase of the ceasefire exchange deal. (dpa)

Hamas is open to an agreement to end the Gaza war that would include the one-time release of all remaining hostages and a five-year cessation of hostilities, an official from the Palestinian group said Saturday.

"Hamas is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as a delegation from his group was set to meet mediators in Cairo later in the day.

On April 17, Hamas, which opposes a "partial" ceasefire agreement, rejected an Israeli proposal that included a 45-day truce in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.

The group has consistently demanded that a truce agreement must lead to the end of the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a prisoner exchange, and the immediate and sufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Israel, for its part, demands the return of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza -- the latter being a "red line" for the movement.

The war was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures.

Of the 251 people taken hostage that day, 58 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 who are dead, according to the Israeli army.

A truce from January 19 to March 17 allowed the return of 33 hostages to Israel, including eight who were deceased, in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.

According to figures published by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, at least 2,062 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive resumed on March 18, bringing the total death toll in Gaza to 51,439 since the start of the war.