Iran-backed terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, are working closely together in their efforts against Israel.
A senior Hamas representative in Lebanon, Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, revealed these coordinated actions in an interview with POLITICO.
The news also follows Tehran’s warning of “preemptive action” against Israel.
Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, who heads Hamas’ political bureau in Beirut, stressed that although Hamas had not given prior notice to Hezbollah about its attacks on Israel on October 7, there is ongoing cooperation between the two groups.
He said that Hezbollah is now prepared for a major war against Israel in the north, while Hamas remains determined to thwart Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ambitions in Gaza.
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He said: “We have very strong relations with Hezbollah. We were cooperating with Hezbollah before the attack on Israel and after and now we are in full cooperation.”
The claims have raised concerns that the conflict in the region might expand to involve Lebanon if Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza. The conflict in Gaza has already claimed the lives of more than 2,700 people. If a ground offensive is initiated by Israel, it could potentially draw Hezbollah, a fellow-Shiite proxy of Tehran, further into the conflict.
Abdul-Hadi added: “Hezbollah will pay no attention to threats from anyone against it entering the war; it will ignore warnings to stay out of it. The timing of when Hezbollah wants to enter the war or not will relate to Israeli escalation and incidents on the ground, and especially if Israel tries to enter Gaza on the ground.”
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Although there are expectations of an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza, Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht has cautioned against making assumptions about the next steps, saying: “We are preparing for the next stages of war. We haven’t said what they will be. Everybody’s talking about the ground offensive. It might be something different.”
Abdul-Hadi highlighted that Hezbollah has already demonstrated its readiness for combat in border skirmishes.
He said: “Hezbollah has said it will not remain on the sidelines and the proof of that is Hezbollah has struck along the southern border, that was on the initiative of Hezbollah — they are saying they are geared for a major war.
“Hezbollah has made clear if the Israelis cross the line, it will launch a full attack on Israel.”
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