From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Hamas deputy chief: The fighting has not begun yet
Gianluca Pacchiani is the Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
Saleh al-Arouri, the Lebanon-based deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, says that “the battles have not begun yet.”
In a phone interview with al-Manar, the TV channel of Hezbollah, al-Arouri says that Hamas leaders are in constant communication with Hezbollah, and reveals that he met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on October 7, the day of Hamas’ onslaught on Israel, and that not all their meetings are made public.
Al-Arouri had a publicized meeting yesterday with Nasrallah and Islamic Jihad chief Ziad al-Nakhaleh.
“Our battle is also Hezbollah’s battle,” he adds.
“If the enemy enters by land, it will be an unprecedented defeat [for Israel],” he continues, referring to the anticipated Israeli ground incursion into Gaza, and claims that Hamas terrorists are in good condition in spite of Israeli strikes on the Strip.
Al-Arouri further addresses the issue of the hostages held by Hamas, and says that the foreigners are “guests” but the Israeli prisoners will be exchanged for Hamas detainees in Israel.
Many of the some 220 hostages have foreign citizenship.
He also calls on the people of the West Bank to “escalate the resistance by any means.”
The Times of Israel Community.