THE head of Hamas’ political bureau says the Palestinian resistance stands ‘firm on the battlefield’ despite two and a half months of Israeli war crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip.
In a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday, Ismail Haniyeh said the volume of the Israeli military’s aerial, naval, and ground attacks on the besieged Gaza has been unprecedented.
‘The Zionist regime and its allies thought that they could eliminate the resistance this way and force it to raise the white flag,’ he noted.
‘The resistance, however, has still stood firm and steadfast on the battlefield and inflicted heavy damage on the Zionist regime after 75 days of Israeli crimes and mass murders as part of its scorched-earth policy.’
Haniyeh also hailed the Palestinian nation for showing unique resilience and standing by the resistance while paying a heavy price for their position.
The Palestinian nation still continues the path of resistance in spite of the fact that Israel has killed and injured tens of thousands of people in Gaza, destroyed hundreds of houses, attacked hospitals and blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into the blockaded territory, he emphasised.
The Hamas chief further thanked Amir-Abdollahian for following up on the developments in Gaza, saying the top Iranian diplomat has made four visits to Qatar since the beginning of the war.
Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, stressed that Iran will continue its diplomatic efforts to support ‘the oppressed but powerful and patient Palestinian nation’ in an attempt to end Israel’s criminal aggression and siege on Gaza and counter imposed pro-Israeli political schemes.
‘Today, no one has doubts that the resistance and the Palestinian nation have proven their power and resolve in the face of the Zionist regime’s killing machine despite enduring a lot of pain and suffering and sacrificing more than 20,000 martyrs in the past 75 days,’ he said.
The Iranian foreign minister also condemned the United States’ ‘all-out and unrestricted’ support for Israel in the Gaza war, urging Washington to stop its futile sponsorship of Tel Aviv’s ‘insane military strategy’ as soon as possible.
Highlighting the US’s bewilderment at its strategy about the crisis in Gaza, he said, ‘All those at the White House believe that the Zionist regime must be victorious in the field. Now, however, they are seeking to get out of this war with dignity through a political method and save the Israeli regime from its failure of strategy given the realities on the field and the resilience of the resistance and the Palestinian people.’
Haniyeh went to the Egyptian capital Cairo on Wednesday for talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange.
Haniyeh arrived ‘in Cairo to hold discussions with Egyptian officials over the developments of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and other matters’, Hamas said in a statement.
He earlier said, ‘There is no way for negotiations under Israel’s attacks.’
Additionally, Israeli media reported that the Tel Aviv regime is looking for another deal with Hamas to release 30 to 40 captives of the 128 still held in Gaza by the resistance group.
Israel is prepared to negotiate the number of days it will hold its fire as well as the number and type of Palestinian abductees it would release in exchange for the captives, according to the reports. It is also prepared to discuss the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 that the agreement ‘will be difficult and will demand heavy prices’.
Meanwhile, Israeli president Issac Herzog told a group of foreign ambassadors that the regime was ‘ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release’ of the captives.
A humanitarian ceasefire took effect in Gaza from 24 to 30 November. It saw an exchange of between 240 Palestinian abductees held by Israel and 105 war prisoners, including 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners, held by Hamas in Gaza.
Israel waged the brutal war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 19,667 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 52,586 others.
Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble in Gaza, which is under ‘complete siege’ by Israel.
- A senior Hamas official says the Palestinian movement is ready to release all Israeli captives in Gaza in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners, but the regime has so far blocked a deal on the exchange of captives.
Saleh al-Arouri, speaking to Press TV’s ‘Face to Face’ programme, said the recent ceasefire extension talks between Hamas and Israel collapsed due to the regime’s refusal to accept the movement’s all-for-all offer.
He said Hamas has always said it wants Palestinians prisoners to be freed in return for the movement’s release of Israeli military captives held in Gaza.
‘We said it very clearly, we were ready to hand over all the prisoners and the corpses in exchange for all our prisoners and the corpses with the Israelis who used to kidnap our martyrs in the battle field, he said.
‘Therefore, from the beginning we wanted all for all, but the Israeli regime did not reply, they were concentrating on the women and kids; even when we proposed the release of some civilian males, not soldiers, they refused the deal, saying we do not want them!’
On the exchange of settlers held in Gaza with Palestinian prisoners, he said Hamas never wanted to keep settlers in Gaza and this exchange deal didn’t happen because of Israel’s brutal bombardment campaign.
‘Hamas offered the idea of all for all, the Israelis are promoting lies only, they have been saying that Hamas agreed for the release of women and children under heavy pressure, so we are going to exert more pressure on Hamas in order to force it to release our military men and women in an unjust deal or without any deal at all.’
Arouri said Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has blocked a Gaza ceasefire to save his own political future and has refused Hamas’ offers to release all Israeli military captives held in Gaza in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Arouri said: ‘I would like to say in this occasion a very important point. Netanyahu during his meeting with the families of the freed Israelis … said something which was recorded and went on the air by some Hebrew channels.
‘He said if Hamas offered all for all, we would accepted it, but he was lying because we came up with an official and public offer from Hamas’s top official in Gaza Yahya al-Sinwar personally who said we would be ready for the idea of all for all … that was our stance from beginning, because our goal was the freedom of our prisoners,’ Arouri said.
He said Netanyahu lied to his people about the ceasefire talks, and vowed to release the captives through the war on Gaza but to no avail.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has reportedly turned the Gaza Strip’s streets into a deadly maze for Israeli military forces due to its knowledge of the terrain.
Arouri continued: ‘Their prime minister was lying to his society, practically I think this matter has become very clear for the Israeli society and the international community.
‘What he was talking about was the military operation to free his prisoners with Hamas; this matter is impossible to be achieved, he failed in it.
‘For about 70 days and during the ground incursion inside Gaza, the Israelis succeeded in getting 3 corpses only. So, the idea of freeing their soldiers alive is totally impossible,’ he said.
In his remarks, Arouri also said the group’s will and determination to fight the Israeli occupation outweighs its tunnels and missiles.
The Palestinian leader said the most significant strength point of the Palestinian fighters is that they fight for a just cause and are ready to sacrifice for their cause.
He said this will and determination is much more important than Hamas’ tunnels and missiles.
Arouri emphasised that the resistance group is the ‘essential part’ of the Palestinian people and it will continue to fight and stand against Israeli brutality with will and determination.
In the interview, Arouri said Israel has had no significant battlefield achievement so far.
He said the regime’s forces have resorted to propaganda campaign such as arresting civilians in schools claiming they are prisoners from Hamas.
Arouri added: ‘There is no doubt in that, I’m talking to the Israelis who are repeating their allegations by saying we are going to defeat Hamas and its fighters very soon.
‘If they are Hamas fighters under your arrest, why don’t you distribute photos for them? What they have been doing is a desperate movement; they arrested old people claiming they were Hamas fighters.’
He said the resistance movement will not be eliminated, and it is even capable of defeating the occupation forces.
The leader of Hamas resistance movement says the Palestinians brave battle with the Israeli regime is approaching a bright end thanks to the heroic resistance of fighters and the nation.
‘October 7 wasn’t something rare. That was … part of the Palestinian struggle to get its freedom and to live like other nations in the world, having its state and own sovereignty.
‘So this has been another stage of the Palestinian people‘s struggle … but this stage has been a big and powerful one, as it created a big shock for the Israeli regime,’ Arouri said.
‘The operation carried out by resistance factions caused surprise and shock and meant to awaken the Israeli society and the world in general.
‘These people did not remain silent about their rights and are capable of showing the world every time what is bigger and more dangerous.
‘The negligence to the rights of the Palestinian people will affect the international stability,’ he added.
The Hamas official went on to say that this operation made it clear that the Israeli military and intelligence services are nothing ‘more than a mirage’.
He further hailed Iran’s support for the Palestinian cause, and said all Muslim countries should follow Iran’s suit and take concrete actions to help the Palestinians liberate their lands.
The Hamas official also condemned the international community’s disregard for Israeli actions, saying the world’s silence is ruining any possible chance for a solution.
Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long violence against Palestinians.
Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed over 19,600 Palestinians and injured more than 52,000 others.
The Tel Aviv regime has imposed a ‘complete siege’ on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.