TEHRAN (Dunya News) - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran will stand by Hamas during the ongoing negotiations over Gaza and support any decisions made by the Palestinian leadership.
During a telephone conversation with Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Pezeshkian said Iran would fully back every step and decision taken by Palestinian leaders throughout the negotiation process.
His remarks come after US President Donald Trump claimed last week that Hamas had agreed to disarm following negotiations involving Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye.
Israel, however, maintains that it will not withdraw its forces from Gaza until Hamas is disarmed.
Hamas has rejected that position, saying surrendering its weapons before an Israeli military withdrawal is not an option.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he does not support Trump's proposed plan for Gaza, adding further uncertainty to ongoing ceasefire efforts and negotiations.
Also Read: After deadly day, Gazans say Trump's touting of plan jars with grim reality
Furthermore, the decomposed remains of 112 bodies lay on stretchers shrouded in flags in the sun's heat: all that could be found of the Al-Hassaynas of Sabra, a Palestinian clan of proud Bedouin stock all but wiped out by Israel nearly three years ago.
According to Palestinian authorities, 308 members of the extended Al-Hassayna family, also known as the Abu Sharia, were killed on November 22, 2023 when Israeli airstrikes brought down a cluster of apartment buildings as residents slept in Sabra, one of the old neighbourhoods of Gaza City.
Around half of the dead were previously recovered and buried, but 153 bodies had remained under the rubble until now.
Nearly three years later, a recovery team of 40 workers spent 17 days painstakingly combing the wreckage, and brought out remains identified as belonging to 112 of those missing victims.