Iran's top leader meets Hamas leader, expresses support

Tehran, Nov 6

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stressed his country's "permanent policy" of supporting the Palestinian resistance forces against Israel in a recent meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Khamenei met with Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, and his accompanying delegation in the Iranian capital Tehran, according to a statement published on the leader's website on Sunday, without specifying the date of the meeting.

Khamenei reiterated his praise for the "strong people of Gaza for their patience and resistance", and strongly deplored "Israel's crimes that are being perpetrated with the direct support of the United States and certain Western countries", Xinhua news agency reported.

He also called on Muslim states and the international community to make serious moves and provide the people of Gaza with "all-out and practical" support.

During the meeting, Haniyeh presented a report of the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as well as the Israeli "crimes" against the coastal enclave, according to the statement.

The Israel-Hamas conflict, raging for nearly a month, has led to the deaths of 9,770 Palestinians in Gaza. On the Israeli side, more than 1,400 people lost their lives, the vast majority in the Hamas military operation on October 7, which triggered the ongoing conflict.