BEIRUT: Hamas chief Yehya Sinwar thanked the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for his group’s support in the conflict with Israel, Hezbollah said on Friday, in the first reported message since Sinwar became Hamas leader in August.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah has been waging attacks on Israel for nearly a year in a conflict across the Lebanese-Israeli border that has been taking place in parallel to the Gaza war. Hezbollah says its attacks aim to support the Palestinians.
“Your blessed actions have expressed 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 broadcaster.
Sinwar has not appeared in public since the Oct. 7 attacks, and is widely thought to be running the war from tunnels beneath Gaza. It was the second time this week he is reported to have sent a letter. Hamas said on Tuesday he had sent one congratulating Algerian President Abdulmadjid Tebboune on his reelection.
Hezbollah is the most powerful faction in an alliance of Iran-backed groups known as the Axis of Resistance, which have also entered the fray 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 saying “the battle requires more.”
Over the last year, Israel has killed around 500 Hezbollah fighters, including its top military commander Fuad Shukr. The toll is greater than Hezbollah’s losses in its 2006 war with Israel. Hezbollah has said it had no advance knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack, which Sinwar helped plan.
Sinwar also thanked Nasrallah for a letter he sent expressing condolences for the death of Ismail Haniyeh, the former Hamas leader killed in Tehran in July in an assassination widely believed to have been carried out by Israel.
The hostilities across the Lebanese-Israeli border have forced tens of thousands of people to leave both sides of the frontier. The risk of escalation has loomed large.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that Israeli forces are near to fulfilling their mission in Gaza and their focus will turn to the Lebanon border.
Israeli leaders have said they would prefer to resolve the conflict through an agreement that would push Hezbollah away from the border. Hezbollah has said that it will continue fighting as long as the Gaza war continues.
Hamas chief Sinwar thanks Hezbollah in letter to Nasrallah
https://arab.news/ph5ph
Hamas chief Sinwar thanks Hezbollah in letter to Nasrallah
- Sinwar has not appeared in public since the Oct. 7 attacks
- Hezbollah is the most powerful faction in an alliance of Iran-backed groups known as the Axis of Resistance
Kosovo president Osmani congratulates Syria on Liberation Day
- ‘This is a day that symbolizes not only freedom regained, but also the rebirth of a people’s hope’
RIYADH: Kosovan President Vjosa Osmani has sent her congratulations to the Syrian people as Syria celebrated Liberation Day marking a year since the overthrow of Bashar Assad.
“Happy Liberation Day to all the people of Syria. It is with profound honor that I address you today on behalf of the people and the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, as you mark this historic first anniversary of your liberation,” the Kosovan leader said in a video posted on her social media account.
“This is a day that symbolizes not only freedom regained, but also the rebirth of a people’s hope.”
“Both our countries, Kosovo and Syria, have known the darkest chapters of oppression, injustice, and unimaginable suffering. But we have also known what it means to rise, to transform pain into purpose and strength. We have stood firm in our belief that no force can extinguish a people’s yearning for freedom,” Osmani added.
Syria formally recognized Kosovo as an independent and sovereign state in October during a trilateral meeting in Riyadh hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Syrian president Ahmed Al-Sharaa and Kosovo’s Osmani.
Osmani described Syria’s recognition of Kosovo as a “historic event,” and expressed her appreciation to the crown prince for facilitating the meeting between the two nations.
“We have learned that justice, though delayed, always finds a voice. For the people of Kosovo, freedom was earned through so much sacrifice and courage. And we know that the same spirit defines the people of Syria, who have endured so much, yet never surrendered their faith in a better tomorrow,” Osmani said in her video greeting to the Syrian people.
“Dear friends in Syria, please know that Kosovo stands with you. We will be your partner, your friend, and your ally every step of the way. From Pristina to Damascus, our hearts beat as one for freedom, for dignity, and for the enduring friendship between our two countries. Happy Liberation Day.”
