Hamas chief, Afghan foreign minister discuss Gaza developments

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY Palestine (AA) – Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh held a phone call on Tuesday with acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss political and military developments in Gaza and the Palestinian territories.

Haniyeh updated the Afghan diplomat on the current situation in the Palestinian lands, particularly the Gaza Strip, Hamas said in a statement.

The Hamas leader reiterated commitment to reaching a cease-fire agreement “aimed at fulfilling the demands of the Palestinian people and their resistance.”

Muttaqi, for his part, confirmed the support of the Taliban government and the Afghan people for the Palestinian cause and resistance, the statement said.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 39,100 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio