Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar in rare letter written to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, has reaffirmed his commitment to fighting Israel and supporting the Iran-backed alliance of regional militants known as the “Axis of Resistance,” the Lebanese militant said.
The letter, shared by Hezbollah’s Telegram channel, was written to show gratitude for Hezbollah’s ongoing fight against Israel, which began on October 8, just a day after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel that triggered a devastating Israeli assault on Gaza.
Sinwar, believed to be hiding underground in Gaza, reiterate that the group is committed to the path of resistance taken by his slain predecessor Ismail Haniyeh and to the “unity of the Ummah (Islamic nation), at the heart of which is the Axis of Resistance, in the face of the Zionist project.”
Sinwar, flagged one of Israel’s most wanted men, hasn’t been publicly heard from for almost a year – until this week.
Muhammad Shehada, a writer and analyst from Gaza, said, “He’s trying to say I’m here, I’m alive, I’m very much in command. I’m constantly updated and aware of everything happening outside Gaza.
“He wants to show that he is able to operate on multiple fronts, the domestic front – the battlefield in Gaza – and the diplomatic front – mediations.”
He was also of the opinion that the target audience for such letters is primarily Israel, to whom Sinwar is attempting to show that despite efforts to find him, he is still able to continue working without interference.
The other target, Shehada added, is Hamas, including “skeptics from inside the movement or even mediators like Qatar, the US and Egypt, who doubt that he might be able to fulfill his leadership role from the tunnels in Gaza.”
Sinwar was named political leader of Hamas after Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran in July. He is seen as more hardline than his predecessor in dealings with Israel and favors cooperation and closer ties with Iran and allied Islamist groups such as Hezbollah.
In his letter to Nasrallah, Sinwar vowed to continue defending Islamic holy sites, particularly Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque “until the expulsion and eradication of the occupation from our land, and the establishment of our independent state with full sovereignty and its capital Jerusalem.”
The October 7 attack, he said, was “one of the most honorable battles in the history of our Palestinian people.”
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