Hamas leader thanks Hezbollah chief for support in fight against Israel

In a letter published by Hezbollah's media office on Friday, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar thanked Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah for his support in the ongoing war with Israel.

In the letter, dated Monday, Sinwar thanked Nasrallah for the “blessed deeds” of the Iran-backed groups in supporting Hamas since October 7, when Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250. Sinwar called the war “one of the most honorable battles for the Palestinian people.”

On October 8, Hezbollah began attacking Israeli military posts along the border, sparking a sustained exchange of fire that left hundreds dead.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the area since the war between Israel and Hamas began. The count does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

The war has caused enormous destruction and displaced around 90 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million residents, often multiple times. The United Nations reported that the Palestinian economy is in free fall. The report by the UN's Trade and Development Department also warned of a “rapid and worrying economic decline” in the West Bank, citing the expansion of Israeli settlements, land expropriations, the demolition of Palestinian buildings and settler violence as reasons for the economic outlook.