Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Friday, May 21, 2021
Claiming victory while sitting in Qatar, Hamas chief says ‘we destroyed project of coexistence with Israel’

Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Rafah Medical Complex in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip on November 23, 2019. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh hails Hamas’s “victory” in the recent hostilities with Israel, saying it will have a wide impact in the region’s relationship with the Jewish state.
“We have destroyed the project of ‘coexistence’ with Israel, of ‘normalization’ with Israel,” Haniyeh says.
The terror group leader promises that Hamas will enjoy growing regional support following the 11-day conflict.
“What is coming after this battle is not what came before it…you will yet see many [diplomatic] contacts and successes,” Haniyeh says. “We have seen how our nation awoke…to stand behind Jerualem, Palestine and resistance.”