TEHRAN- The Palestinian resistance remains “firm on the battlefield,” according to the head of Hamas’ political bureau, in spite of 2.5 months of Israeli war crimes in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

Ismail Haniyeh stated in a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday that the Israeli military’s aerial, naval, and ground strikes on beleaguered Gaza had been unparalleled.

“The Zionist regime and its allies thought that they could eliminate the resistance this way and force it to raise the white flag,” he noted.

“The resistance, however, held firm and stood steadfast on the battlefield and inflicted heavy damage on the Zionist regime after 75 days of Israeli crimes and mass murders as part of its scorched-earth policy.”

Haniyeh also praised the Palestinian people for their exceptional fortitude in supporting the resistance movement while suffering greatly as a result of their stance.

He underlined that despite Israel having demolished hundreds of houses, assaulted hospitals, murdered and maimed tens of thousands of people in Gaza, and prevented humanitarian aid from entering the blockaded region, the Palestinian people continues to walk on the path of resistance.

The head of Hamas also expressed gratitude to Amir Abdollahian for keeping track of events in Gaza, mentioning that since the onset of the conflict, the senior Iranian diplomat has visited Qatar four times.

Amir Abdollahian, for his part, emphasized that Iran will keep up its diplomatic efforts to assist “the oppressed but powerful and patient Palestinian nation” in an effort to oppose pro-Israeli political schemes that are imposed and put an end to Israel’s illegal aggression and siege of Gaza.

“Today, no one has doubts that the resistance and the Palestinian nation have proven their power and resolve in the face of the Zionist regime’s killing machine despite enduring a lot of pain and suffering and sacrificing more than 20,000 martyrs in the past 75 days,” he said.

The Iranian foreign minister further denounced Washington’s senseless encouragement of Tel Aviv’s “insane military strategy” and called for an immediate end to Washington’s “all-out and unrestricted” backing for Israel in the Gaza conflict.

He also highlighted the U.S. perplexity over its Gaza approach, saying, “All those at the White House believe that the Zionist regime must be victorious in the field. Now, however, they are seeking to get out of this war with dignity through a political method and save the Israeli regime from its failure of strategy given the realities on the field and the resilience of the resistance and the Palestinian people.”

It is worth saying that during the bloody onslaught on Gaza, Israeli officials have gained little of military substance. 

With the rise of number of civilian damages in Gaza, the Israeli army inflicted heavy loss on the innocent people of Gaza but gained no military breakthrough. Instead, according to recent polls, Hamas popularity is on the rise despite the Israeli expectations envisioning to obliterate the movement in a wink of an eye.        

The other topic which needs to be addressed is the post-war Gaza. The Israeli officials considered after the end of the war that they can install any group which is on its side despite the fact that such a theme is truly senseless because Israel claimed to be the sole winner of the war but failed to achieve its declared objectives.      

Israeli authorities are desperately trying to launch another ceasefire which insinuates that Hamas delivered another crushing blow to the regime. But this time things are different: there is an all for all deal, indicating that all prisoners should be swapped with all the captives.

On Wednesday, Haniyeh traveled to Cairo, the capital of Egypt, to hold discussions over a prisoner swap and a truce in Gaza.

Hamas released a statement indicating that Haniyeh had arrived “in Cairo to hold discussions with Egyptian officials over the developments of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and other matters.”

He earlier said, “There is no way for negotiations under Israel’s attacks.”

Furthermore, according to Israeli media, the Tel Aviv regime is trying to work out another agreement with Hamas in order to free between thirty and forty of the 128 remaining captives held in Gaza.

According to the sources, Israel is willing to bargain over how long it will hold its fire for as well as how many and what kind of Palestinian abductees it would release in return for the prisoners. It is also ready to talk about the arrival of humanitarian supplies in Gaza.

Channel 12 was informed by a top Israeli official that the arrangement “will be difficult and will demand heavy prices.”

In the meanwhile, the regime is “ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog informed a gathering of international diplomats.

At the end, it is thinly veiled that the armed to the teeth Israeli army have destroyed the Gaza’s infrastructure fundamentally but could cannot touch the foundation of the resistance in the region. Resistance is still up and running.

“Time running against U.S., Israel”

In a meeting with his Qatari counterpart, held in Doha on Wednesday, Amir Abdollahian said it appears from a series of messages and signs that the U.S. is making new attempts to disconnect itself from the Israeli atrocities against Palestine, although it has stood by the Zionist regime in its failed militancy in practice.

He continued that time was running out for the U.S. administration and the Zionist regime, noting that their international obligations would only increase as a result of the Israeli regime’s insistence on waging war on Gaza and Washington's backing of Tel Aviv.

In addition, he demanded that Tehran and Doha maintain ongoing coordination in their attempts to secure a long-term peace in Gaza, provide the enclave with humanitarian supplies, and resolve the political situation in Gaza.

For his part, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani praised Qatar and Iran for their constructive and efficient collaborative efforts to assist Palestine and contribute to a durable truce in Gaza.

By Sadegh Fereydounabadi