GAZA CITY, Palestine

The head of the Palestinian resistance group, Islamic Jihad, urged Arab and Islamic nations to stand by the Gaza Strip on Saturday following a 15-month Israeli genocidal war.

Ziad al-Nakhala urged Arab and Islamic nations “to stand by our people, and we are confident that they will not abandon us."

He emphasized during a televised speech the importance of achieving Palestinian unity, solidarity and cooperation to meet the needs of Gaza's residents in light of the destruction and suffering caused by the war.

Regarding the ceasefire agreement, al-Nakhala explained that the "Palestinian resistance succeeded in imposing its terms on Israel.”

"We forced the enemy to agree to a ceasefire, withdraw from Gaza, and conduct a prisoner exchange operation that ensures the release of a large number of our prisoners in the first phase," he said. "We will continue our efforts in the second phase to liberate the rest of our prisoners, and the enemy will withdraw from the areas it entered in the Gaza Strip."

Qatar announced a three-phase ceasefire agreement late Wednesday to end more than 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza, with the deal set to take effect at 8.30 a.m. local time (0630GMT) Sunday.​​​​​​​

Nearly 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 110,700 injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November 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.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala