Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Hamas leaders and discussed the reconstruction of Gaza during a visit to Qatar on Thursday, according to the Palestinian militant group, whose political office is in Doha.
Senior leaders of Iran-backed Hamas attended the talks, including Shura advisory council leader Mohammed Darwish and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, a statement said.
The meeting, which coincided with a new hostage-prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, "covered the latest political and field developments, the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, prisoner exchange efforts, and Israeli attempts to delay reconstruction and humanitarian relief," the statement said, giving no further details.
Israel has denied Hamas accusations it is holding up aid shipments, saying Wednesday that thousands of trucks had entered Gaza in recent days.
Araghchi also met Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani and discussed Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories, and Syria, a Qatari foreign ministry statement said.
The devastating war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
The hostilities quickly expanded to include Tehran allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Huthi rebels in Yemen and also led to direct exchanges between Iran and Israel, who are sworn enemies.
A fragile ceasefire in Gaza — mediated by Qatar, the United States, and Egypt — began on January 19 and calls for 33 Israeli hostages captured on October 7 to be freed in exchange for around 1,900 prisoners in Israeli custody.
According to Hamas, Araghchi "noted that the Palestinian fighters had disproved the myth of the 'invincible Israeli army' by carrying out a strategic military operation and negotiating on equal footing, leading to a ceasefire and an honorable prisoner exchange deal."
On Tuesday, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that "the small, limited Gaza brought the Zionist regime, armed to the teeth and fully supported by America, to its knees."
At the same time, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif acknowledged earlier this month that Hamas's October 7 attack had "destroyed" an opportunity for talks to revive a landmark nuclear accord between Iran and world powers.
With AFP
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