1Berita English – Palestinian Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh has called on Muslim countries to send weapons to Palestinian militants in Gaza. Haniyeh made this request in response to Israel’s aggression against Palestine, which has been ongoing for three months since October 7, 2023.
“We see countries around the world flooding weapons to the occupying state (Israel),” said Haniyeh, as quoted by AFP. “The time has come (for Muslim countries) to support the resistance with weapons because this is not just the Palestinian people’s battle,” he added.
In late December, Haniyeh affirmed that Hamas rejected a temporary ceasefire with Israel. This rejection was conveyed during negotiations with Israel in Cairo, Egypt, on December 21, 2023.
Hamas insists that Israel permanently ceases aggression against Palestine as a condition for hostage release. One of the topics in the negotiations is the issue of releasing hostages by Islamic Jihad and exchanging them for Palestinians held captive by Israel.
Reuters sources leaked information that the discussions were tense between the involved parties. Israel had previously requested the release of 40 Hamas hostages in exchange for a one-week ceasefire. Israel stated that there are still over 100 hostages in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Israel’s aggression against Palestine has exceeded 22,000. Of the tens of thousands of casualties, more than half are reported to be women and children.
