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Hamas said on Saturday that it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, a move that comes amid efforts to break a deadlock in the talks between the armed group and Israel. In a statement, Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said the group had received an Israeli response to a proposal it delivered to Egyptian and Qatari mediators two weeks ago. Mr. al-Hayya did not provide any details included in the Israeli proposal, but he said Hamas would respond to it after the group finished studying it. Hamas has demanded a permanent cease-fire, whereas Israel has expressed openness to a temporary pause. Hamas officials have said Palestinians should be able to go back en masse, while Israeli officials have said Israel wants to put limits on who can return, where and how.
Persons: Khalil al, Hayya, Israel Organizations: Hamas Locations: Gaza, Israel, Rafah
CNN —An Egyptian delegation is in Israel in an effort to advance stalled negotiations aimed at releasing hostages and implementing a ceasefire in Gaza, Egyptian and Israeli officials told CNN on Friday. The delegation is also set to continue discussions with Israeli officials on security coordination around a potential Israeli operation in Rafah, another Israeli official said. Despite months of talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt, Hamas and Israel have failed to reach an agreement over differences on key demands. Abed Rahim Khatib/picture-alliance/dpa/APAnother sticking point in the negotiations is the number of Israeli hostages set for release in the first phase of the agreement. A senior Hamas official criticized the statement as a show of “ironic international politics” and called for the signatory countries to put pressure on Israel to accept a deal.
Persons: Al Jazeera, Khalil Al, Hayya, , Israel –, , , Abed Rahim Khatib, Basem Naim, Hersh Goldberg, Polin, ” Goldberg, ” Matthew Hollingworth Organizations: CNN, US, UN, Al, Hamas, Food Locations: Israel, Gaza, Rafah, Egypt, Qatar, United States, Tel Aviv
The Palestinian militant group has long called for the Jewish state to be destroyed. Basem Naim, an Istanbul-based member of Hamas’ political bureau, told CNN on Thursday that the group would agree to disarm if an independent Palestinian state was established. Hamas has traditionally rejected a two-state solution that would see a Palestinian state established alongside Israel and has instead advocated the creation of a Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine that today encompasses Israel, the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza. Barghouti said Hamas indicated as far back as 2007, when it led a Palestinian national unity government, that it is willing to accept a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha that Hamas is willing to function solely as a political party once a Palestinian state is created, citing meetings between the group and Turkish officials.
Persons: Basem Naim, Al Qassam, , Mustafa Barghouti, Efraim Inbar, Israel ”, Israel “, Netanyahu, Khalil al, Hayya, ” Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hayyah, Barghouti, Naim, Hakan Fidan, Organizations: CNN, Palestinian, Hamas, Israel, West Bank, Palestinian National Initiative, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy, Security, Associated Press, AP, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Oslo Accords, Turkish, Qatari Locations: Israel, Gaza, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Palestinian, Palestine, East Jerusalem, United States, Israeli, Oslo, Doha, Turkish
CNN —Several journalists, including a CNN stringer, were injured in an attack on a refugee camp in central Gaza, amid mounting concerns about media workers being killed and injured while covering Israel’s military campaign. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the attack and on allegations that journalists were targeted at the camp. Several journalists, including a CNN stringer, were injured in the attack on April 12. CNN footage shows a few other injured people brought into the hospital, including a number of journalists. Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has been the deadliest period for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began gathering data in 1992.
Persons: Sami Shehada, Sami Barhoum, , Shehada, Mohammad Al, Sawalhi, ” Shehada, Saleh, Khalil Al, Organizations: CNN, TRT Arabi, TRT, Israel Defense Forces, AFP, Getty, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Al, Protect Journalists, UN Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Turkish, Al, Aqsa, Deir al, AFP, Deir el, Israeli
This year my coexistence organization, Abrahamic Reunion, has hosted our 20th annual coexistence Iftar meal, this time in Jerusalem. Ramadan is a time when Muslims have to think about the other who is less fortunate than themselves. That is the essence of spiritual coexistence, in which your self-image makes room for the humanity of others. Spiritual coexistence means building bridges out of celebration, grief and the acknowledgment of God above us, no matter your faith. An Israeli whose wife was the first Bedouin woman honored with lighting a torch at Israel’s national Independence Day ceremony.
Persons: Sheikh Khalil al, Baz, Sana, Abraham, Gazans, “ Allahu Akbar ”, Allah, God Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Tel Sheva, Israel, Palestine, Jerusalem, Gaza, Negev, Tel, Israeli
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday morning, according to Israel’s military. Israel’s military said its fighter jets had retaliated by striking a number of sites linked to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The group is a key ally of Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attacks on Israel led to the war in Gaza. Since Israel’s bombardment of Gaza began, Hezbollah has been firing rockets into northern Israel on a near-daily basis. The Israeli military regularly responds with strikes against Hezbollah-linked targets inside Lebanon.
Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Khalil al, Euan Ward, Adam Sella Organizations: Hamas’s Locations: Lebanese, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Lebanon’s Bekaa, Cairo, United States, Egypt, Qatar, Iran
Oil edges up with slim progress in Gaza peace talks
  + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: +1 min
A pump jack at an oil lot connected to the Petroleos del Peru SA Talara refinery in Piura, Peru, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. Oil prices rose on Thursday after Israel rejected a ceasefire offer from Hamas, as talks continued to try to end the Gaza conflict and wider Middle East tensions that have kept the market on edge since October. A Palestinian Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya was due to travel on Thursday to Cairo for ceasefire talks with Egypt and Qatar. On the demand side, a much stronger-than-expected drawdown in gasoline stocks in the U.S. reported on Wednesday continued to buoy the market. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 3.15 million barrels last week compared with analysts' estimates for a build of 140,000 barrels.
Persons: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony Blinken, Khalil Al, Hayya Organizations: del, del Peru SA Talara, Brent, . West Texas, Hamas, U.S . Energy Information Administration, ANZ Research Locations: del Peru, Piura, Peru, Gaza, Palestinian, Cairo, Egypt, Qatar, U.S
Gaza Ceasefire Hopes Alive With More Talks Planned
  + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com   time to read: +5 min
"Continued military pressure is a necessary condition for the release of the hostages," Netanyahu said. Israel began its military offensive after Hamas militants from Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Netanyahu rejects a Palestinian state, which Saudi Arabia says is a requirement for the kingdom to normalise relations with Israel. But last week Israel said it would expand its campaign into Rafah, where about half the enclave's 2.3 million people are penned against the border with Egypt. On the ground in southern Gaza, residents said Israel stepped up its assault on Rafah in the early hours of Thursday.
Persons: Nidal, Humeyra Pamuk, Antony Blinken, Khalil Al, Hayya, Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken, Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar, Israel, Washington, Khan Younis, Nidal al, Andrew Mills, Bassam Massoud, Cynthia Osterman, Howard Goller Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Israeli, Hamas, NBC News, Israel Democracy Institute, Nakhoul Locations: Humeyra Pamuk DOHA, TEL AVIV, U.S, Qatar, Egypt, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Saudi Arabia, ISRAEL, RAFAH Israel, Gaza's, Rafah, Tel Al, Doha
Video and witness accounts indicate there have been multiple strikes in the area of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Tuesday, with many casualties being taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. In one video, a blanket appears to be covering a dead body as people at the scene prepare to move the body. "Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is the only hospital in the central area and cannot accommodate such a large number of people, especially considering that massacres against our people are still ongoing," he said. "There is a major crisis, particularly because we do not have enough beds, especially in the overcrowded emergency room." Another video filmed in Deir al-Balah shows a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance fleeing the scene of nearby artillery fire, according to the aid agency.
Persons: Khalil Al Daqran, Al Daqran Organizations: Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, CNN, Al, Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Red Crescent Society Locations: Deir, Gaza, Aqsa, Deir al, Al Aqsa, Deir Al, Egypt, Rafah
Can Hamas Locate Remaining Hostages in Mayhem of Gaza War?
  + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com   time to read: +6 min
One Israeli source with knowledge of the issue said Hamas was estimated to be holding 90% of the hostages. Hamas and Israel were expected to release more hostages and prisoners on Wednesday, the last day of an extended six-day truce in the Gaza war. Israel has said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day. Palestinian sources said Hamas was able to gather some hostages with smaller groups, but it is unclear whether the Islamic Jihad would carry its own swaps or conduct them through Hamas. Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy said on Wednesday the government held Hamas fully responsible for the abduction of everyone held inside Gaza.
Persons: Nidal, Andrew Mills, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Islamic Jihad, Khalil Al, Hayya, Israel, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Eylon Levy, Maayan Lubell, Michael Georgy, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Hamas, Islamic, HAMAS, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, West Bank, Palestinian Prisoners, Palestinian Locations: Ahmed Mohamed Hassan GAZA, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, Egypt, Iran, Doha, Qatar, Hamas, Jerusalem
Hamas says it is working to locate them in a Gaza Strip shattered by weeks of Israeli bombardment. One Israeli source with knowledge of the issue said Hamas was estimated to be holding 90% of the hostages. Hamas and Israel were expected to release more hostages and prisoners on Wednesday, the last day of an extended six-day truce in the Gaza war. Israel has said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day. Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy said on Wednesday the government held Hamas fully responsible for the abduction of everyone held inside Gaza.
Persons: Abed Sabah, Islamic Jihad, Khalil Al, Hayya, Israel, Gilad Shalit, Shalit, Eylon Levy, Maayan Lubell, Michael Georgy, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Islamic, HAMAS, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, West Bank, Palestinian Prisoners, Palestinian, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Beach, Gaza City, GAZA, Gaza, Egypt, Iran, Doha, Qatar, Hamas, Jerusalem
The remarks by Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya late on Monday came as Israel expanded the roster of Palestinian detainees it could release in exchange for hostages - another signal that a revision of truce terms was being considered. Accordingly, Israel had originally pre-cleared 300 Palestinian women and teenaged male detainees for prospective release. Hamas seized some 240 people during its Oct. 7 cross-border killing spree that sparked the Gaza war. Among hostages it still holds are fathers and husbands of those it has freed in recent days. Writing by Nadine Awadalla and Dan Williams; editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Khalil al, Hayya, Al Jazeera, spokespeople, Nadine Awadalla, Dan Williams, Lincoln Organizations: International Committee, Palestinian, Qatari, Thomson Locations: Israel, DUBAI, JERUSALEM, Gaza
A deal for a temporary cease fire was inching into view in Israel's war against Hamas, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tempered expectations by vowing that the war would continue even if a deal is reached. “We are at war, and we will continue the war,” he said. Israel has vowed to continue the war until it destroys Hamas’ military capabilities and returns all hostages. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government maintains ties with Hamas officials, said Turkey’s foreign minister and intelligence chief were working with Qatari officials to negotiate releases. Hamas has released four hostages, Israel has rescued one, and the bodies of two were found near Shifa.
Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Israel, Gaza — Israel, NETANYAHU, , , Mostafa Madbouly, ” Madbouly, Israel —, Hadas Kalderon, Kalderon, John Kirby, Kirby, “ We’ve, ” NETANYAHU, , ” Netanhayu, Khalil al, Hayya, Valdis Dombrovskis, ” BIDEN, WASHINGTON, Joe Biden, ” “, ” Biden, Biden's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Tebboune, ” Tebboune, ” Erdogan, Israel’s, Asad, Assad, Qassim Abdul, Bassem, Tara Copp, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, ” Lavrov, Ziad Makary, Farah Omar, Rabih Maamari, Kfar Kila, Laiqa Serhan, Reuters videojournalist, Abduallah, Qatar’s Al, Izzat, Ismail Haniyeh, Goren, Tal Chaimi, ” Netanyahu, Mosab Abu Toha, Hamza Abu Toha, Mosab, Hamza, ” Mosab Abu Toha, Abu, Abu Toha Organizations: Hamas, Senior, Palestinian, Troops, Health Ministry, West Bank, WAR, JERUSALEM, CAIRO —, Israel, White, National Security, Israel —, European Union, ” EU, HIT ISRAEL, Algerian, International Criminal, Hezbollah, Cabinet, MUSLIM, Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, United Nations Security Council, Lebanese, National News Agency, Reuters, Agence France, Jazeera, SEA DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Galaxy Leader, U.S . Navy, OFFICIAL, PEN, Yorker Locations: Israel, United States, Qatar, Gaza, Gaza City, Gaza —, Iran, Yemen, Egypt, Cyprus, israel, Israeli, EGYPT, CAIRO, TEL AVIV, HAIFA, Beirut, EU, STRASBOURG, France, TURKEY, ALGERIA, GAZA ALGIERS, Algeria, Turkey, Turkish, BAGHDAD, Iraq, U.S, al, Baghdad, Anbar, Syria, Zahra, Bassem Mroue, Washington, JERUSALEM, , Russian, Moscow, Russia, LEBANON, ISRAEL, BEIRUT, Lebanon, Kibbutz Manara, Kfar, IRAN, YEMEN, United Arab, Tehran, American, Red, Persian, Hormuz, Shifa
[1/5] An Israeli soldier operates amid the ongoing ground invasion against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, November 8, 2023. Hamas' armed wing on Wednesday released a video that appeared to show intense street battles alongside bombed out buildings in Gaza City. Israeli tanks have met heavy resistance from Hamas fighters using underground tunnels to stage ambushes, according to sources with Iran-backed Hamas and the separate Islamic Jihad militant group. ISRAEL BOMBS TUNNELSChief Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday that "Hamas has lost control in the north" of Gaza. The Israeli military has repeatedly told residents to evacuate the north or risk being trapped in the violence.
Persons: Ronen, Israel, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Khalil al, Saleh al, Daniel Hagari, Colonel Ido, Hagari, U.N, Nidal al, Angel, Emily Rose, Maayan, Rami Amichay, Matt Spetalnick, Humeyra Pamuk, Cynthia Osterman, Michael Perry Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, REUTERS, West Bank, Jihad, Palestinian Authority, Israel's, ABC News, New York Times, Israel, Reuters, Wednesday, Journalists, 401st Brigade, Thomson Locations: Israeli, Gaza, Gaza City, West, Gaza WASHINGTON, GAZA, JERUSALEM, United States, Hamas, Iran, Israel, Washington, Tokyo, Palestinian, Aqsa, ISRAEL, Gaza's, Qatar, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
People injured in Israeli attacks on Al-Maghazi refugee camp are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza on November 5. CNNDozens were killed and many more injured in a blast at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip late Saturday night, according to an official at a nearby hospital. Video taken at the Al-Aqsa Martyr's hospital showed multiple bodies laid out under white tarpaulin and those of five children. A dense area: The Al-Maghazi refugee camp is located in the central part of the coastal enclave south of Wadi Gaza. The IDF has repeatedly called for civilians in Gaza to move south of Wadi Gaza as it has intensified its air and ground assault on Gaza City and Northern Gaza.
Persons: Khalil Al, Balah, Dr, Daqran, Jamal Al Aloul, , Samah Shaqoura Organizations: Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, CNN, Al, Aqsa Martyr’s, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, IDF Locations: Al, Aqsa, Deir Al, Balah, Gaza, Israeli, Wadi Gaza, Gaza City, Northern Gaza
CNN —Dozens were killed and many more injured in a blast at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip late Saturday night, according to an official at a nearby hospital and eyewitnesses who spoke with CNN. One resident of the camp told CNN: “We were sitting in our homes, suddenly we heard a very, very powerful sound of an explosion. People check the damage at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp on Sunday. Alaloul, who is a freelance photojournalist with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, said his home was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. The Al-Maghazi refugee camp is located in the central part of the coastal enclave south of Wadi Gaza, the waterway that divides north from south Gaza.
Persons: Mohammad al Hajj, Dr Eyad Abu Zaher, , Khalil Al, , Mahmud Hams, Muhammed Alaloul, Alaloul, Kenan, Rahaf, Ahmad, , Qais, ” Alaloul, Jamal Al Aloul, Samah Shaqoura, CNN “, Sundos Shaqura, Israel, Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Blinken, Mohammed Shia, ” “ Israel, We’ve Organizations: CNN, Hamas, of Health, Al, Israel Defense Forces, Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital, IDF, Getty, Israel, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Sunday, Anadolu, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Iraqi Locations: Gaza, Aqsa, AFP, Wadi Gaza, Ramallah, Turkish, Jordan, Iraq, Sudani, Baghdad
CNN —Israeli ground forces are inside Gaza having entered the enclave overnight, as Palestinians experienced what they have described as the most intense round of airstrikes since Israel began its retaliation against Hamas’ October 7 terror attack. Israeli forces “went into the Gaza Strip and expanded the ground operation where infantry, armour and engineer units and artillery with heavy fire are taking part,” Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said Saturday morning during a press briefing in Tel Aviv. “The forces are in the field and continue the fighting,” he added, without giving further details. Both those raids saw ground forces withdraw after a few hours. Israeli air strikes destroyed hundreds of buildings in the Gaza Strip overnight, the civil defence service in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory said on Saturday.
Persons: , Daniel Hagari, , Hagari, Gazans, Mohammed Abed, Gaza Gazans, Khalil Al, Dikran, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Lynn Hastings, Catherine Russell, ” Russell, SIMs Organizations: CNN, Israel, Gaza, Israeli Defense Forces, IDF, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Getty, Al Aqsa Martyrs, CNN Communications, Health, United Nations, Jawwal Locations: Gaza, Tel Aviv, Wadi Gaza, Ramallah, AFP, Al Aqsa, Deir al Balah, Palestine
An Israeli airstrike killed a top leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). PIJ targeted the Jerusalem area with rocket attacks on Friday. Recent fighting has seen hundreds of strikes and rocket exchanges between Israel and Gaza militants. Iyad al-Hassani is the sixth PIJ leader to be killed by Israel this week. Since Tuesday, there have been large-scale missile and rocket exchanges between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.
Three men protesting the NEOM project have been sentenced to death, UN human rights experts said. The experts group said the men had been convicted under an "overly vague" terror law which appears not to meet international law. This image shows the planned design of 'The Line,' a 'vertical skyscraper' which forms part of the futuristic Saudi Arabian city of NEOM. Three further tribe members were given prison sentences of up to 50 years, the experts group said. Since January 2020, residents of the three villages of Al Khuraiba, Sharma and Gayal have been evicted without fair compensation, despite promises from the state, the experts group said.
Factbox: Iraq War: quotes from the conflict and its aftermath
  + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +9 min
BAGHDAD, March 15 (Reuters) - Here are some notable quotes from before, during and after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein. - U.S. President George W. Bush referring to Iraq, Iran and North Korea in his State of the Union Address. - Saddam Hussein in message to U.N. General Assembly. - Saddam Hussein on first day of invasion. A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein," - Bush.
[1/4] Khalil Al-Sawadi, the uncle-by-marriage of a baby girl born during a deadly earthquake earlier this month, holds her, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 18, 2023. REUTERS/Khalil AshawiJANDARIS, Syria Feb 18 (Reuters) - An infant child born in northern Syria during this month's devastating earthquake was reunited on Saturday with her aunt and uncle, after her parents and siblings died in the disaster. Footage circulating widely on social media after the quake showed a rescuer scrambling down a hill of rubble carrying a tiny dust-covered baby. Ataa was born three days after the earthquake and Sawadi said he would raise them together. A woman gave birth to a child in the city of Aleppo during the earthquake and said he "brought her back to life."
Lula's team also worked to secure a jungle conservation alliance announced on Monday between the three largest rainforest nations - Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. That includes pushing for rich nations with high greenhouse gas emissions to pay poor nations for historic damage the climate. Colombia's Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said Lula's election would allow for renewed regional cooperation among Amazon rainforest nations to tackle deforestation, a major contributor to climate change. Lula environmental advisor Izabella Teixeira said she felt the mood about Brazil has shifted at COP27 from previous summits. "When I come to COP and meet people after the election of President Lula, there is hope," she said.
An EU official said Lula would also meet on Wednesday with EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans. Last month, Lula defeated right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who oversaw mounting destruction of the Amazon rainforest and refused to host the 2019 climate summit originally planned for Brazil. His team also worked to secure a jungle conservation alliance announced on Monday between the three largest rainforest nations - Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia. They said other countries know Brazil will soon have a Lula government that has promised to take the issue more seriously than Bolsonaro, a climate change sceptic. Colombia's Environment Minister Susana Muhamad said Lula's election would allow renewed regional cooperation among Amazon rainforest nations to tackle deforestation, a major contributor to climate change.
Hamas leaders meet Assad in Damascus to 'turn the page'
  + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
DAMASCUS, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Syria's President Bashar al-Assad met a delegation from Hamas on Wednesday, with the Sunni Palestinian Islamist faction saying the meeting could help "turn the page" after shunning Damascus for a decade. Hamas leaders publicly endorsed the 2011 Sunni street uprising against Assad's rule and vacated their Damascus headquarters in 2012, a move that angered their common ally, Iran. Normalising ties with Assad could help restore Hamas's inclusion in a so-called "axis of resistance" against Israel, which includes Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah, natural allies of Assad, whose Alwaite group is a Shi'ite offshoot. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA small delegation visited Assad in Damascus on Wednesday "to turn all the pages of the past," according to the head of delegation and Hamas politburo member Khalil Al-Hayya. Palestinian political analyst Mustafa Sawwaf said Hamas's reconciliatory move towards Syria aims to create new ground for the Islamist faction.
GAZA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Hamas leaders will visit Syria on Wednesday, in a move by the Palestinian Islamist group to rebuild ties after shunning President Bashar al-Assad for years over his violent crackdown on protests. Hamas leaders publicly endorsed the 2011 street uprising against Assad's dynastic rule and vacated their Syria headquarters in Damascus in 2012, a move that angered their common ally, Iran. Palestinian political analyst Mustafa Sawwaf said Hamas’s reconciliatory move towards Syria aims to create new ground for the Islamist faction. In June, two Hamas officials told Reuters the group had decided to restore relations with Syria. Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, told Reuters the delegation to Syria would be led by senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya, as part of a wider delegation made up of leaders of other factions.
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