Luke BEIRUT, Sept. 13 – Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar thanked Lebanese Hezbollah leader Sayed Hassan Nasrallah for supporting the organization in the conflict with Israel , Hezbollah said on Friday. This was Sinwar’s first message since becoming Hamas leader in August.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has been attacking Israel in the Lebanese-Israeli border conflict for nearly a year.These attacks coincided with the war in Gaza . Hezbollah says its attacks are aimed at supporting the Palestinians.
“Your auspicious actions express your unity with the front line of the axis of resistance, which you support and participate in,” Sinwar told Nasrallah, according to Hezbollah Mannar Radio.
Sinwar, who has not been seen in public since the October 7 attack, is believed to be fighting the war in tunnels beneath Gaza . This is the second time this week it has sent a letter. Hamas said on Tuesday it had sent a letter to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to congratulate him on his re-election.
Hezbollah is the most powerful faction in the Iran-backed Axis of Resistance alliance, which has also been involved in the war, launching attacks from Yemen and Iraq in support of Hamas during the Gaza War.
At the start of the conflict, former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal expressed disappointment at the scale of Hezbollah’s intervention and thanked the group but said that “more is needed in the fighting”.
Last year, Israel killed nearly 500 Hezbollah fighters, including its top military commander Fuad Shukar. That number is higher than Hezbollah’s losses in the war with Israel in 2006. Hezbollah said it had no prior knowledge of the October 7 attack, which Sinwar helped plan.
Sinwar also thanked Nasrallah for his letter expressing condolences over the death of Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran in July. The assassination is believed to have been carried out by Israel.
Hostilities along the Lebanese-Israeli border have caused thousands of people to flee on both sides of the border. This situation threatens to escalate further .
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said on Tuesday that Israeli forces were nearing the end of their mission in Gaza and that their focus would remain on the Lebanese border.
Israeli leaders have said they would prefer to resolve the conflict with a deal that would remove Hezbollah from the border. Hezbollah says it will continue fighting as long as the war in Gaza continues.
