Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani received on Wednesday the credentials of Israel’s new ambassador to Bahrain, Shmuel Revel, the Bahraini state news agency reported.

Bahrain, which normalized ties with Israel in 2020, said its ambassador to Israel had returned home in November 2023 in support of the Palestinian cause, and the Israeli ambassador in Manama had left the kingdom.

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages who were taken to Gaza, with Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa the first Arab leader to condemn the atrocities.

Bahrain, which is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, is a signatory of the Abraham Accords, a series of normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations signed in 2020.

The terror organization’s attack, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, triggered the ongoing Gaza war, in which more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities, whose unverified figures don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

During his reception, Al-Zayani discussed with Revel efforts to support regional peace and security.

Revel replaces Eitan Na’eh, who met with the Bahraini crown prince earlier this month.