عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Haniyeh, Nakhalah Contact Zarif, Offer Condolences over Soleimani’s Death

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. (AP)
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. (AP)
TT
TT

Haniyeh, Nakhalah Contact Zarif, Offer Condolences over Soleimani’s Death

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. (AP)
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. (AP)

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad secretary-general Ziad al-Nakhalah telephoned on Sunday Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and offered their condolences over the death of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, was killed in an American strike last Friday in Iraq.

According to a Hamas statement, Haniyeh praised Soleimani for his role in supporting the resistance and backing the Palestinian people’s rights.

Zarif thanked the Hamas chief for the call and stated that Iran would continue to back “the Palestinian people’s rights and resistance in defense of its land and holy sites.”

For his part, Nakhalah said: “The martyrdom of Soleimani is a sign of pride and dignity against America and the Zionist entity.”

Soleimani’s death is a big loss, but it will break the Palestinian resistance, he added.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has vowed “harsh retaliation” for Soleimani’s killing and dubbed the deceased commander the “international face of resistance.”

Tehran considers both Hamas and the Jihad as part of Iran’s “resistance axis” in the region, in addition to Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Shiite groups in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

However, the relationship between Iran and the Jihad is more advanced than the one with Hamas.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israeli Forces Order New Evacuation at Besieged Northern Gaza Town

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on Al-Wafaa hospital, according to the Palestinian civil defense, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on Al-Wafaa hospital, according to the Palestinian civil defense, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
TT
TT

Israeli Forces Order New Evacuation at Besieged Northern Gaza Town

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on Al-Wafaa hospital, according to the Palestinian civil defense, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on Al-Wafaa hospital, according to the Palestinian civil defense, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, December 29, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Israeli forces carrying out a weeks-long offensive in northern Gaza ordered any residents remaining in Beit Hanoun to quit the town on Sunday, pointing to Palestinian militant rocket fire from the area, residents said.
The instruction to residents to leave caused a new wave of displacement, although it was not immediately clear how many people were affected, the residents told Reuters.
Israel says its almost three-month-old campaign in northern Gaza is aimed at Hamas militants and preventing them from regrouping. Its instructions to civilians to evacuate are meant to keep them out of harm's way, the military says.
Palestinian and United Nations officials say no place is safe in Gaza and that evacuations worsen humanitarian conditions of the population.
Much of the area around the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Lahiya has been cleared of people and razed, fueling speculation that Israel intends to keep the area as a closed buffer zone after the fighting in Gaza ends.
The Israeli military announced its new push into the Beit Hanoun area on Saturday.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said it had lost communication with people still trapped in the town, and it was unable to send teams into the area because of the raid.
On Friday, Israeli forces stormed the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza. The military said it was being used by militants, which Hamas denies.
The raid on the hospital, one of three medical facilities on the northern edge of Gaza, put the last major health facility in the area out of service, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a post on X.
Some patients were evacuated from Kamal Adwan to the Indonesian Hospital, which is not in service, and medics were prevented from joining them there, the Health Ministry said. Other patients and staff were taken to other medical facilities.
On Sunday, health officials said an Israeli tank shell hit the upper floor of the Al-Ahly Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City near the X-ray division.
Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials said Israeli military strikes across the enclave killed at least 16 people on Sunday. One of those strikes killed seven people and wounded others at Al-WAFA Hospital in Gaza City, the Palestinian civil emergency service said in a statement.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.
Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.