Iranian FM, Hamas chief meet ahead of Gaza ceasefire

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has held talks with Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Doha where he has traveled as part of a regional tour for consultations amid the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

The meeting on Thursday night came as a breakthrough four-day truce in the war will start on Friday morning and an exchange of captives and prisoners will follow hours later.  

Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails will be released on Friday, adding a list of names has been approved, without saying how many.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani discussed the plan with Amir-Abdollahian and thanked Iran for its “pivotal role and valuable efforts in helping to achieve a humanitarian cessation of the war against Gaza”, Fars news agency reported.

“We have reached a good stage,” the Qatari minister said, adding the first priority is the ceasefire, and then “our effort is to extend the temporary ceasefire and stop the war and killing of Palestinians completely and prevent a return to war”.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani (2nd R) holds talks with FM Amir-Abdollahian in Doha on Nov. 23, 2023.

Amir-Abdollahian welcomed the ceasefire, saying if the Israeli regime continues the war, “the situation in the region will become more tense and the reactions will be more widespread”.

He said Israel is not able to continue the war without the support of the United States.

Amir-Abdollahian said what had happened against the United States in the region in the last six weeks was the reaction of the resistance groups to US support for the genocide in Palestine and had nothing to do with Iran.

US forces in Iraq and Syria have seen an uptick in attacks since Israel launched its invasion of the besieged Gaza Strip, leaving scores of American troops injured, including over two dozen soldiers diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries.

Amir-Abdollahian said Hamas is a liberation movement that has emerged from within the civil society of the Palestinian nation.

Hamas, he said, cannot be eliminated and its enemies should not think they can achieve through political means what they failed during more than a month and a half of war.

MG