Kudus Gun Commander Also Seems to Have Survived
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, who was rumored to have died, is reportedly alive and appears to have resumed contact with the negotiation team in Qatar, according to local media reports on the 7th (local time). Sinwar succeeded Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Tehran, Iran, at the end of July. Additionally, the Iranian side has stated that Esmail Ghaani, the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, whose survival status was unclear, is also safe.
On this day, Yonhap News Agency cited Israel's largest news site Walla, reporting that an Israeli official said Sinwar recently sent messages to Hamas's negotiation delegation in Qatar. The official said the exact timing of Sinwar's contact is uncertain, but he sent multiple messages to the negotiation team.
The Israeli military has assassinated most of the Hamas leadership involved in the October 7 attack last year, including Haniyeh, through dozens of decapitation operations, but Sinwar has notably not been captured. Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, rose to the position of political leader following Haniyeh, effectively consolidating power within Hamas. At the same time, he has been Israel's top "elimination priority" target.
Ghaani's survival has also been confirmed. The Quds Force is an organization that provides funding, weapons, training, and covert support to the so-called "Axis of Resistance," which includes Hamas and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. Iraj Masjedi, deputy commander of the Quds Force, said at an event held in Tehran, the capital of Iran, that "Commander Ghaani is safe and carrying out his duties."
The status of Hashim Safieddine, the executive chairman of Hezbollah, who was also rumored dead along with these two, has not yet been confirmed. He is the cousin of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who died on the 27th of last month, and was considered a strong candidate for the next leader. On the 3rd, he was targeted in an Israeli airstrike.
On this day, former Hamas leader Khaled Mashal expressed to major foreign media, "We go through stages of losing martyrs and some military capabilities, but thanks to God, the Palestinian spirit is revived like a phoenix," showing determination for reconstruction.
On the 7th (local time), the first anniversary of the Gaza Strip war outbreak, the Iranian proxy forces of the "Axis of Resistance" simultaneously launched attacks against Israel. According to the Times of Israel and others, Hezbollah announced that it fired rockets targeting an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base near Tel Aviv that night. This location houses the IDF's signals intelligence unit and is adjacent to the Mossad headquarters.
Israel conducted airstrikes near Beirut, Lebanon, and continued ground operations in the southern region. Although the war has reached its first year, Israel's battlefield is expanding and the fighting is intensifying.
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