Hezbollah, Lebanon’s powerful Iran-backed militant group, commended Hamas for its “heroic operation” after the Palestinian militant group launched an air, sea, and land attack on Israel on Saturday.
Israel declared war on Hamas after a stunning dawn attack from the blockaded Gaza Strip killed at least 22 people on its territory, according to medics.
“Hezbollah congratulates the resisting Palestinian people,” the Lebanese Shiite movement said in a statement, hailing Hamas and its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, for the “large-scale, heroic operation”.
Hezbollah’s leadership claimed it was monitoring the situation and was “in direct contact with the leadership of the Palestinian resistance at home and abroad.”
In 2006, Hezbollah and Israel conducted a 34-day battle that killed over 1,200 people in Lebanon and 160 troops in Israel.
Since 2007, when Hamas assumed power, Israel has enforced a crushing embargo on Gaza.
Since early last year, violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has increased.
Hezbollah declared in a statement that the Hamas operation in Israel was a “response to the ongoing crimes of the occupation and the continued assault on holy sites.”
The Iran-backed outfit, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US and Israel, also stated that the Hamas action was “a message to the Arab and Muslim worlds, as well as the entire international community, particularly those seeking normalisation.”
Washington has been pushing for diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The European Union, the United States, and Israel regard Hamas as a terrorist organization.