Zahhar told the British newspaper "The Independent" that a number of Gulf figures had told him that around 8 ships would be sailing from the Gulf heading for Gaza carrying relief materials within two months.

Asked on the prisoners exchange deal, the Hamas leader said that Israel was the one that foiled the deal that was about to be concluded.

He charged that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu had opted to change his mind after accepting the German mediator's ideas in the first place, which aborted the agreement.

He said that the captors of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit refuse to allow the Red Cross or any other institution to visit him because they "trust no one".

Zahhar expressed absolute dismay at the West's backing of the Israeli siege on Gaza and denial of results of the Palestinian parliamentary elections, which Hamas won with a sweeping majority.