Video still of Mohammed Deif
Hezbollah: Deif sent condolences to Nasrallah
Lebanese terror group claims to receive letters from Hamas leaders, including Al-Qassam Brigades commander, who was targeted by Israel over summer.
A Lebanese television channel affiliated with Hezbollah reported Thursday that Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas' military wing, sent a letter of condolences to the Lebanese terror group's leader Hassan Nasrallah after a Sunday strike killed a number of senior operatives.
Hamas' political leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, also sent a condolences letter to Hezbollah, which lost six senior officers in a strike on Quneitra which has been attributed to Israel. The group released the contents of the letters they received from Hamas on Thursday.
Hassan Nasrallah and Mohammed Deif (Photo: AFP)
Haniyeh wrote that "the enemy's thinking that the assassination of senior officials will break the will of the nation and its growing resistance is a failing policy."
Hezbollah sources claimed that the second letter was signed by Deif, the commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades who Israel attempted to assassinate over the summer – with the results of the strike unknown.
Israel claims the targeted strike eliminated Deif while Hamas has maintained that their military commander survived the attack.
In the letter, which was widely quoted in Hezbollah-affiliated media, Deif said "all of the guns" should be aimed towards Israel, which has behaved barbarically. The letter adds that all the resistance groups in the Islamic nation should unite ahead of the next campaign.
One Hezbollah outlet contradicted claims in other Lebanese media sources, after they reported that Hassan Nasrallah intended to make an address regarding the strike. Hezbollah will hold a memorial service for the casualties in the Dahieh suburb of Beirut.
The Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported Thursday morning that – despite an Israeli official denying the claim to Reuters – Israel was well aware of who was in the convoy and that the Iranian general was the intended target.
According to sources quoted in the Kuwaiti paper, Israel believed that it could avoid responsibility even if it publicly admitted to the strike because it did not occur within Iran but on Syrian soil.
Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, however, reported Thursday morning that the United States has been attempting to calm the rising tensions in the wake of the strike. According to the report, the US ambassador to Lebanon, David Hill, asked to meet with Prime Minister Tammam Salam to express concern over the recent developments.
The report quoted Hill saying that all sides must remain committed to Resolution 1701 and that Lebanon has been in contact with other countries to urge all sides to maintain restrain. Hill also denied, according to the report, that Washington was aware of the strike beforehand.
