The new Gaza leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas says it has restored relations with Iran and is gearing up for renewed hostilities with Israel.
Yahyah Sinwar tells reporters Monday that Iran is now “the largest backer financially and militarily” to Hamas’ armed wing. It was his first meeting with journalists since taking up his post in February.
Iran was once Hamas’ largest backer. But relations cooled after Hamas refused to back Iran’s close ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, in his country’s civil war.
Sinwar says that with Iran’s help, Hamas is “accumulating” its military powers in preparation for a battle meant for “the liberation of Palestine.”
Hamas, a terror group that seeks Israel’s destruction, has fought three wars with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2007.
— Agencies
Yahya Sinwar, the new leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, attends the opening of a new mosque in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2017. (AFP Photo/Said Khatib)
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