Hamas' Haniyeh urges swift relief for Gaza, political, diplomatic isolation of Israel

By Mohamad Majed and Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – The head of Hamas’ political bureau on Saturday urged Arab and Islamic leaders and scholars to act to stop the aggression against Gaza, and to quickly rescue Palestinians and isolate Israel politically and diplomatically due to the “war crimes” it commits.

“On the threshold of the month of Ramadan, we call on leaders, icons, and scholars of the ummah (Islamic community) to take effective action on various political, diplomatic, and legal fronts to immediately stop the aggression against our people, especially in Gaza, and protect Al-Aqsa Mosque,” said Ismail Haniyeh on Telegram.

Writing near the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Haniyeh stressed the need to put pressure on countries supporting Israel to compel it to immediately and unconditionally halt the war.

“Our people are receiving this year's Ramadan burdened with pains and hopes, and that the sons of our people are subjected to the worst massacres in the genocidal war on Gaza.”

He also stressed in his message the “urgent need to truly relieve Palestinians in terms of food, medicine, and shelter, and to fully open the crossings to provide full and urgent needs and to completely end the blockade on people of Gaza and start a comprehensive reconstruction process.”

Haniyeh called for “more efforts to prosecute the occupation (Israel) and expose its crimes, and isolate it politically and diplomatically, due to the war crimes and crimes against humanity it commits in the genocide massacres in Gaza.”

“The occupation is the root of all problems and instability in the region, and its continuation contradicts the principles of international law and the United Nations, and the attainment of Palestinian people's independence and freedom is what ends the root of the problem and establishes a new and different phase at the regional and global levels,” he said.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack led by Hamas, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

Nearly 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​