Iranian foreign minister, Palestinian factions discuss Gaza developments

By Haydar Sahin and Sami Sohta

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian discussed on Thursday the latest developments in the Gaza Strip with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad Movement Ziad al-Nakhalah, state media said, as talks for a cease-fire and release of hostages continue.

In two separate phone calls, Abdollahian emphasized “the need for regional and international efforts to continue to bring an immediate end to the Israeli crimes against the defenseless people in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to reach the enclave,” according to the Iranian official news agency IRNA.

The foreign minister reiterated that “no party or country should be allowed to impose its will or political projects on the Palestinian nation.”

Haniyeh briefed the Iranian side about the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

He said, “The resistance movements will only consider initiatives for a cease-fire in Gaza if those initiatives respect the interests of the Palestinian nation.”

Nakhalah, for his part, appreciated “the Iranian leadership and people for their support for the cause of freedom of Palestine.”

He said, “The Zionist occupiers will have no option but to surrender to the strong determination of the Palestinian nation.”

Negotiators are said to be edging closer to an agreement to halt the war and enable the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has killed more than 27,000 people in the Gaza Strip in response to the Oct. 7 cross-border offensive by Hamas, which took the lives of 1,200 people and took 240 as hostages. The military onslaught has caused mass displacement and destruction and created conditions for famine.

A temporary truce in November resulted in a seven-day pause in the fighting in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages by Hamas and about 240 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara