‘Blood will pave way to victory’: Hamas chief negotiator makes first appearance after surviving Doha attack; delivers defiant message

Hamas’s senior negotiator Khalil al-Hayya (X)

Hamas’s senior negotiator Khalil al-Hayya made his first televised appearance since Israel’s targeted strike on Hamas officials in Doha last month, delivering a defiant message amid ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict in Gaza.The pre-recorded statement aired overnight on Qatar’s Al Araby Television Network showed al-Hayya addressing the strike, which killed six people, including his son, but he along with some other top Hamas leaders survived. The attack had drawn international criticism, including from US President Donald Trump.Al-Hayya did not differentiate between those killed in the Doha strike and the tens of thousands who have died during nearly two years of conflict in Gaza. “We hope that their blood will pave the way to victory, the way to Jerusalem, the way to the disgrace of the occupation, and the way to the dignity and triumph of the nation,” he said.Expressing his remorse over the number of lives lost for the Palestinian cause al-Hayya said, “Today Gaza represents the nations by what it gives and sacrifices of itself and the best of what it offers of itself. “The video came as negotiators prepared to meet in Cairo for indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending hostilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed optimism about the possible release of hostages within days.These diplomatic efforts follow Hamas’s positive reception to a peace plan proposed by Donald Trump for releasing captives in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Egyptian state-linked media confirmed that indirect talks would take place Sunday and Monday, ahead of the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attack that sparked the current conflict.Al-Hayya’s interview did not mention the ceasefire talks or negotiations but focused on the suffering endured by Gazans during the protracted Israeli offensive. Qatar, alongside Egypt and the US, has been instrumental in facilitating multiple rounds of diplomacy in Doha and Cairo to broker a comprehensive ceasefire.