Iran’s top diplomat discusses Israel’s war in Gaza with Hezbollah leader

Aljazeera-Nov23rd2023

Iran’s top diplomat has met the leader of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in an undisclosed location in Lebanon, discussing efforts to end Israel’s war in Gaza.

The meeting of Iran’s Hossein Amirabdollahian and Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah as Israel and Palestinian group Hamas ready for an upcoming four-day humanitarian pause and a deal that is expected to free 50 Israelis held captive in Gaza and 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

The warring sides are still hammering out the details of the Qatar-brokered deal, which Israel says will not take effect “before Friday”.

Amirabdollahian, speaking to the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen channel on Wednesday, warned that if the ceasefire does not hold, “the scope of the war will expand”.

Amirabdollahian left Beirut for Qatar’s capital Doha after meeting Nasrallah, Iran’s Nour news agency reported.

Hezbollah said on Thursday morning that it fired 48 Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military base at Ein Zeitim, near the town of Safed about 10km (6 miles) from the border.

The group said it also carried out at least 10 other attacks on Israeli positions near the frontier, which it claimed had caused casualties.