In the fight against Israel
Hezbollah consults with Hamas and Islamic Jihad on “real victory”
October 25, 2023, 12:32 p.m
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The head of the pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah meets with senior representatives of the radical Islamic Hamas and the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad. The meeting will focus on how a “real victory” can be achieved in the war against Israel.
The head of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, met with senior representatives of the Islamist Hamas and the militant Palestinian organization Islamic Jihad (PIJ). This was announced by Hezbollah’s press office. Nasrallah met with Hamas deputy chief Salih al-Aruri and with Siad Nachali, PIJ leader in the Palestinian territories, to discuss “developments in the region.”
The men also discussed what the “axis of resistance (against Israel) must do in this sensitive phase in order to achieve a real victory for the resistance in Gaza and Palestine,” Hezbollah said. The aim was to stop the “treacherous and brutal aggression against our people,” it said. The “ongoing confrontations on the Lebanese border” were also discussed at the meeting. Since Hamas’ major attack on Israel on October 7th, there have been daily military clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Deaths were reported on both sides.
Hezbollah also released a photo of the meeting, the location and time of which were not disclosed. On the wall next to the men hang portraits of Iran’s late revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini and the current head of state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Shiite Hezbollah (Party of God) was formed in 1982 with Iranian support in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Since then she has been fighting politically, but also violently, against Israel. Nasrallah has lived in seclusion for years and has not spoken publicly since the start of the Gaza war.
In the ongoing war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hamas, there are also concerns that the pro-Iranian Hezbollah could enter deeper into the fighting. Hezbollah is considered far more dangerous to Israel than Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli sources, around 1,400 people were killed in Hamas’ attack on Israel and more than 220 people were taken hostage in the Gaza Strip. In response, Israel launched massive airstrikes. Since then, more than 5,700 people have been killed, according to Hamas figures that could not be independently verified.