Hamas chief, Iran’s foreign minister discuss efforts to end Israeli war on Gaza

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh held talks with Iran's acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri in Qatar to discuss ways of ending Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group said on Thursday.

The talks held between the two sides Wednesday evening took up Palestinian developments and efforts to halt the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, Hamas added in a statement.

Bagheri reviewed Iranian efforts to support the Palestinians in international arenas, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the BRICS bloc of emerging economics, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the statement said.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have so far failed to agree on a permanent cease-fire that allows a prisoner swap between the two sides.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 37,400 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 85,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

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

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.