Head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar attends a rally in support of Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque in Gaza City on Oct. 1, 2022. (Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP)
BEIRUT — Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar sent a letter to Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, on Friday, thanking him for the party's involvement in confronting Israel since last October.
In the letter, which was shared by Hezbollah's television network al-Manar, Sinwar also said that he received with "great appreciation" a letter sent by Nasrallah in which he expressed his condolences following the assassination of former Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and congratulated Sinwar on his new appointment.
On Oct. 8, a day after Hamas' attack against Israel, Hezbollah opened what it called a "solidarity front" with Gaza along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Since then, Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been exchanging daily attacks. On July 31, Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran hours after Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur was killed by an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
“The martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh confirms that the blood of leaders is not more precious than the blood of the Palestinian people,” Sinwar said in his letter, adding that this would increase the "strength and firmness in the face of the Nazi-Zionist occupation.”
"The principles that Haniyeh was calling for will remain present and will be followed by our movement. At the forefront of these principles is the unity of our Palestinian people on the choice of resistance and the unity of the nation."
On Tuesday, the Israeli army said that if all Israeli hostages held by Hamas are returned, Israel would agree to "build a safe passage" for Sinwar and his companions to flee Gaza. However, a senior source in Hamas told The National on Thursday that Hamas would not accept this offer.
"It is not the nature of our leaders to be selfish, to give in for personal interests, or to flee. We will not accept anything less than an honorable exchange deal. Whether by deal or otherwise, brother Sinwar is not thinking of leaving Gaza," the official said.
Israeli commanders believe Sinwar, 61, is hiding in a labyrinthine maze of tunnels that Hamas has built under the Gaza Strip over the years.