Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar Photo: Getty Images
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar declared on Monday that the Palestinian Islamist movement is ready for a “prolonged war of attrition” against Israel. His statement came in a message to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who launched a rare rocket strike on central Israel on Sunday, AFP reported.
“We are prepared to wage a prolonged war of attrition,” Sinwar said, expressing solidarity with allied groups in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen, and vowing that these efforts will ultimately lead to Israel’s defeat.
The statement followed a rare missile attack on central Israel, for which the Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa and much of the Red Sea coastline, claimed responsibility. Although the attack caused no casualties, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliatory measures.
Sinwar praised the Houthis for sending rockets “into the heart of the enemy” and claimed that Israel’s air defenses failed to intercept them. The Houthis asserted that they had “penetrated” Israel’s defense systems, while Israeli military officials stated that the missile likely disintegrated mid-air but was not intercepted.
The Houthis, along with other Hamas allies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi militias, are part of what Iran, Israel’s staunch adversary, refers to as the “axis of resistance.” Sinwar emphasized the growing importance of these support fronts in the conflict against Israel.
“Our joint efforts with you and allied resistance groups in Lebanon and Iraq will destroy this enemy and bring about its defeat,” Sinwar concluded.
