Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad chiefs discuss route to ‘victory’ on Israel

The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group has met top Palestinian armed group leaders from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, discussing what their alliance must do to achieve an “all-out victory” over Israel, according to a statement by Hezbollah.

The statement said Wednesday’s meeting involved Hezbollah’s Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri and Islamic Jihad chief Ziad al-Nakhala, without mentioning the location.

“The leaders tackled latest developments since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the events that followed on all fronts, including the confrontations across the border between Lebanon and the occupied Palestine,” Lebanese state media Al-Manar quoted the statement as saying, referring to the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas fighters that killed at least 1,400 people in Israel and prompted a retaliation that in turn killed more than 5,700 people in Gaza.

“Sayyed Nasrallah assessed with Nakhale and al-Arouri the international and regional stances as well as steps to be taken by the Axis of Resistance in this critical phase in order to achieve an all-out victory and to stop the brutal attack on the oppressed people of Gaza and the West Bank,” the statement added.

Since the October 7 attack, Hezbollah has had near-daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

The Lebanese group announced on Wednesday that two more of its fighters had been killed, increasing the death toll in its ranks to 40 fighters since the start of the conflict.

On Tuesday, the health ministry said that 704 Palestinians, including 305 children, were killed as Israel ramps up its aggression against the enclave.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Tuesday’s death toll was the highest figure reported in a single day since the conflict began.

In the occupied West Bank, at least 100 people have also been killed in clashes with the Israeli military, the Palestinian health ministry said.Amid fears that the conflict could spill over across the Middle East, Israel’s military said its jets also hit Syrian army infrastructure in response to rockets launched from the neighbouring country.

While the military did not provide further details, it did not accuse Syria’s army of firing the two rockets.

Syrian state news agency (SANA) said, citing a military source, that the Israeli attack killed eight soldiers and wounded seven near the southwestern city of Deraa.