Eurasia Press & News
Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar thanked the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, for his group’s support in the conflict with Israel, Hezbollah announced on Friday. This was Sinwar’s first public message since he became Hamas leader in August.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been carrying out attacks on Israel for nearly a year along the Lebanon-Israel border, parallel to the war in Gaza. Hezbollah claims its attacks aim to support Palestinians.
“Your blessed actions have proven your solidarity on the fronts of the Axis of Resistance, supporting and engaging in the battle,” Sinwar told Nasrallah, according to Hezbollah’s al-Manar television.
Sinwar has not appeared publicly since the October 7 attack on Israel and is believed to be directing the war from tunnels beneath Gaza. This is his second letter this week, with Hamas announcing on Tuesday that he sent congratulations to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on his re-election.
Hezbollah is the most powerful faction in a coalition of Iran-backed groups known as the Axis of Resistance, which have also entered the fight with attacks from Yemen and Iraq in support of Hamas during the Gaza war.
In the early days of the conflict, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal hinted at frustration over the scale of Hezbollah’s intervention, thanking the group but stating that “the battle requires more.”
Over the past year, Israel has killed around 500 Hezbollah fighters, including its chief military commander Fuad Shukr. This death toll exceeds Hezbollah’s losses during the 2006 war with Israel. The Lebanese group previously stated it had no prior knowledge of the October 7 attack, which Sinwar helped plan.
Sinwar also thanked Nasrallah for his letter of condolences following the death of Ismail Haniyeh, a former Hamas leader, who was killed in Tehran in July in an assassination believed to have been carried out by Israel.
Hostilities along the Lebanon-Israel border have forced tens of thousands of people to flee from both sides, with the risk of escalation remaining high.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that Israeli forces are close to completing their mission in Gaza and that their focus would shift to the border with Lebanon.
Israeli leaders have expressed a preference for resolving the conflict through an agreement that would distance Hezbollah from the border, while Hezbollah has stated it will continue fighting as long as the war in Gaza persists, reports Reuters.
