Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah makes first statement since start of conflict

TEL AVIV: Hezbollah's Al-Manar television network published a handwritten letter Wednesday purported to have been written by the organisation's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, media reported.

Nasrallah, who has remained silent since the start of the Hamas-Israel war and avoided even appearing in front of the cameras, clarified in the letter how his terror group's slain operatives should be treated in statements, funerals and various memorial events, YNet News reported.

According to the Al-Manar report, Nasrallah also met with Islamic Jihad chief Ziad al-Nakhala, and with Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri, who both live in Lebanon. At the meeting, the three discussed "the recent events and the war in the various arenas," and assessed what their alliance must do to "achieve a real victory for the resistance" in Gaza, as well as how to put a stop to "Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza." Al-Manar reported that the parties "agreed to continue coordination and monitor developments on a daily basis".

The publication of the letter and in the meeting with the leaders of the Palestinian organisations is evidence that Nasrallah wants to emphasise the unified front and the common Axis of Resistance. Publicly releasing of Hezbollah's death toll is a sort of proof that the organisation is participating in the war "on the road to Jerusalem," alongside Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

In addition, the statement also mentions the West Bank; thus, Nasrallah is trying to further strengthen his commitment to what is happening in the Palestinian arena, YNet News reported.

In the battles on Israel's northern border, Hezbollah members, along with Palestinian terrorists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad who are also active in southern Lebanon, are trying to attack the Israeli troops by a variety of methods. Despite this, the security establishment has assessed in recent days that Iran and Hezbollah have no interest at this stage in risking a war that would in fact lead to the destruction of Lebanon, including parts of Beirut and the area of the Shiite city of Baalbek, YNet News reported.