British MP Galloway secretly meets with Haniyeh in Gaza

British lawmaker George Galloway held a meeting Wednesday with Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh at an undisclosed location.

Haniyeh has kept out of sight since Israel launched a three-week offensive against Hamas last December in Gaza.

Haniyeh's office said the meeting took place on Tuesday. It released a picture of the two men embracing and said Galloway was awarded an honorary Palestinian passport.

Galloway left Gaza on Wednesday through the Egyptian border. Galloway led a delegation that he said delivered some $1.1 million of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Among those traveling with Galloway was Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of international Mideast envoy and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A Hamas official on Monday hailed Galloway as a "hero" upon the lawmaker's arrival in Gaza.

Galloway entered Gaza from Egypt along with about 50 British volunteers and 100 vehicles carrying aid.

Receiving the activists, Ahmed Kurd, Hamas' minister of social affairs, thanked Galloway for the "noble goodwill gesture" and called the lawmaker a "hero."