Osama Hamdan, Hamas executive in Lebanon. (Credit: Screenshot/YouTube)
BEIRUT — Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, denied reports on Thursday that were made by Reuters on Wednesday regarding a recent meeting in Tehran between Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the head of Hamas' political wing, Ismail Haniyeh.
"What has been reported is nothing but lies and slander. The agency has given no information whatsoever and has merely spread a cheap lie," Hamdan said.
According to Reuters, three senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that Iran told Hamas in early November that it was not informed of the Oct. 7 attack and that the Islamic Republic would not take part in the war. This information came from a meeting between Khamenei and Haniyeh in Teheran.
"Everyone knows the nature of the relationship between the movement and the Islamic Republic, and everyone knows the position of the Islamic Republic in favor of the Palestinian cause, the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian resistance, in particular the Hamas movement," Hamdan reiterated, adding that Hamas "did not talk about this meeting [with Khamenei], which was positive, but we say it was an extension of the good relations with Iran."
The Hamas executive denounced what he saw as an attempt to "harm the resistance in the region and the 'Axis of Resistance' through misleading news because there is no doubt that the resistance is advancing."
"This worries Israel," he said, accusing it of having lied on several occasions, particularly during the 40 days of the war.
Hamdan also indicated that the Palestinians "appreciate" the involvement of the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah in the war. "There is no doubt that the brothers of the resistance in Lebanon, from Hezbollah, intervened on the ground to support the brothers in Gaza from the day after the battle ... This is something that their brothers of the resistance in Palestine appreciate," he said.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which entered its 41st day on Thursday, was triggered by the Palestinian Islamist movement's unprecedented attack on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7. In retaliation, Israel vowed to "annihilate" Hamas, relentlessly pounding the besieged territory where 2.4 million Palestinians live, resulting in thousands of deaths.
This article was originally published in French on L'Orient-Le Jour.