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By Mandy Taheri
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Senior Hamas leaders met with Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the country's president Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday, coinciding with the Iran-backed militant group's fifth hostage-prisoner exchange with Israel.
Newsweek has reached out to Iran's Foreign Ministry for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Over the past few weeks, as part of the temporary ceasefire deal with Israel, the Palestinian militant group has released 21 hostages to Israel which in return has freed 550 Palestinian prisoners.
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Iran has backed Hamas for decades, with notable support during the current Israel-Hamas war, which is temporarily paused.
What To Know
Chairman of the Hamas Shura council Muhammad Ismail Darwish, deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau Khalil al-Hayya, and Hamas political bureau member Nizar Awadallah, met with Iran's top leaders on Saturday, just days before the 46th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
The trio met with Khamenei and Pezeshkian separately. The meetings come after over 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas. On October 7, 2023, Hamas attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Following that attack, Israel launched several ground and air operations in Gaza and closed off essential aid access points.
The small enclave has been devastated by the war, bombings and a lack of humanitarian aid. Israel has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. At least 1.9 million people—about 90 percent of the population—have been internally displaced by Israeli bombardments, according to the United Nations. The ceasefire has allowed thousands of Palestinians to return to their destroyed homes in northern Gaza in recent days.
In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, mirroring meeting notes from Iran's state news agency IRNA, Iran's Supreme Leader praised Hamas and Palestinians, writing: "The people of Gaza prevailed over the Zionist regime. In fact, they prevailed over the United States, and by God's grace, they didn't allow the US to attain any of its goals."
Iran's Supreme Leader has repeatedly criticized U.S. support for Israel, which receives billions in U.S. military aid and is a key diplomatic ally. The U.S. and Iran haven't shared formal diplomatic relations in over four decades.
In another, he wrote: "The ultimate result of all the sufferings of the people of Gaza was the victory of truth over falsehood, and they became a role model for all those devoted to the cause of the Resistance."
He reiterated that "the issue of Palestine for us is a main issue, and Palestine's victory is for us a definitive matter."
IRNA reported that Hamas leaders congratulated Khamenei on the upcoming anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which brought his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to power.
Also on Saturday, in Gaza City, Hamas freed three hostages, Eli Sharabi, 52, Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56. Hours later, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners. A previous temporary ceasefire agreement led to the release of 105 hostages from Hamas in November 2023.
This isn't the first time that Hamas leaders are in Tehran since the war broke out. Last July, then-Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a targeted strike in a guesthouse in Iran's capital. He was in the city for the swearing-in ceremony of Pezeshkian.
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What People Are Saying
Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, wrote in an X post Saturday: "On a day when #Hamas released three hostages from #Israel including Eli Sharabi, whose wife and two daughters were murdered by Hamas, and Or Levy, whose wife was murdered by Hamas, Hamas leaders meet with their patron #Iran's regime's supreme leader. It's unclear whether Eli and Or even know of their murders. Their blood is on Khamenei's hands."
Khalil Sayegh, a political analyst, wrote in a Saturday X post: "In a visit to Tehran, Hamas leaders claimed 'The victory in Gaza is a victory for Hamas and Iran.' One thing is for sure there was no victory for the Palestinian people and their case."
Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian said during the meeting, per IRNA: "Islamic countries will definitely be able to rebuild Gaza together and restore life to the Muslim people of this region."
What Happens Next
In total, 33 hostages and 1,900 prisoners are due to be freed by the end of the first stage of the ceasefire in three weeks. Israel says eight of the 33 are dead.
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