ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Sunday met Palestinian resistance group Hamas's leadership in Qatar amid ongoing Israeli onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Fazl, during his meeting with Hamas's Qatar-based leader Ismail Haniyeh and former chief Khaled Mashal, expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine amid ongoing Israeli aggression.
According to the health ministry in the Gaza Strip, at least 9,770 people, including 4,800 children, had been killed in the Palestinian territory since the war with Israel erupted on October 7. Israeli officials claimed that over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Hamas attacks since the beginning of the conflict.
Fazl, the senior politician, is in Qatar where he is expected to reach out to the Arab world's leadership to find a way to provide aid to Gaza which has been facing a dire humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing Israeli bombing of the strip, sources told Geo News.
"The two sides held detailed discussions over the Palestine issue", JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said while shedding light on the meeting between the veteran politician and Hamas leadership.
"[The JUI-F chief] conveyed condolences and expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine in the wake of Israeli atrocities in Gaza," the statement on Fazl's X account read.
During the meeting, Haniyeh called for Muslims to unite in the face of Israeli aggression.
"It is the Muslim Ummah's responsibility to unite against Israeli atrocities," Haniyeh said.
Meanwhile, Mashal highlighted that the prevalent atrocities in Kashmir and Palestine are a slap in the face of so-called human rights advocates.
The JUI-F chief, while echoing Hamas leadership's views, said that the developed nations have the blood of innocent children and women on their hands.
Israel's war on Palestinians and an ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip continue to escalate the humanitarian crisis.
The Benjamin Netanyahu-led occupation forces have intensified their ground operation and bombardment in Gaza for almost the last four weeks killing thousands of Palestinians including children.
For its relentless attacks, Israel accuses Hamas of hiding among civilians and has been using this explanation as an excuse when it faces criticism for targeting besieged civilians.
With Turkey being the latest to recall its envoy from Israel, many countries have also cut their diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, whose forces have besieged Gaza for 17 years.
Global powers, including the United States and the UN, have called on Israel to ensure that civilian casualties are avoided in its continuing pursuit to eliminate Hamas, but to no avail.
The UN is also calling for an immediate ceasefire to at least allow aid to flow smoothly to the war-torn strip and permit the exchange of hostages.
Israeli PM Netanyahu, however, has ruled out halting his forces' assault on Gaza and stressed that they would continue to pound the Hamas-run enclave.
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