KABUL, Afghanistan — Even as insurgents in Afghanistan have escalated their attacks against government forces across the country, they have also been staging a simultaneous charm offensive of sorts in advance of Eid al-Adha, the Islamic Feast of Sacrifice, which starts this week.

In the past week alone, the Taliban have overrun a city, burned down government facilities, hidden in civilians’ homes and killed hundreds of their opponents.

At the same time, the group has been actively seeking for weeks to court Afghan civilians, promising last month to halt suicide bombings in civilian areas, and announcing on Twitter and other social networks that those who surrendered would not be harmed.

The moves left many in the country expressing hope that the Taliban and the government would join a cease-fire and hold peace talks.