The commander of Iran's IRGC Quds Force sent a message to the head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Yahya Sinwar, extending his congratulations for his appointment to the post and affirming Iran's continued support for the Palestinian Resistance against the Israeli occupation.

In his message, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani offered his condolences to Sinwar on the martyrdom of Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by the Israeli occupation entity while in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Martyr Haniyeh was "truly a valiant leader" of the Islamic Resistance, a dignified and steadfast figure, and a unifier within the Islamic world, the message read.

"As the Leader of the Revolution [Sayyed Ali Khamenei] has stated, we consider it our duty to avenge his blood for this bitter incident that occurred within the territory of the Islamic Republic," Qaani underlined.

He affirmed that the "heroic jihad" of the Islamic Resistance would intensify the impact of this punishment more than before and would hasten the demise of the Israeli occupation entity.

The Iranian commander also extended his congratulations "to all the heroes of Hamas, Gaza, and the [Islamic] nation," on the occasion of the appointment of Sinwar, who he described as "a figure with an honorable history in leadership and jihad."

Qaani pointed out that Sinwar's election showed that Hamas has not faltered in the face of the assassination of its top political and military leaders.

By electing another wise leader such as Sinwar, Hamas has demonstrated that it has passed its banner of honor to someone even more influential on the battlefield, the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force indicated.

"We reaffirm that we will remain by your side, together on the path of Resistance, to fulfill the divine promise of cleansing al-Quds from the cancerous tumor [Israel]," Qaani concluded.

Sinwar's election as political leader strengthens Hamas-Iran ties: WSJ

In a related context, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Hamas’ appointment of Sinwar as its leader strengthens the strategic ties between the movement and Iran and indicates a unified front between Tehran and its allies in the Axis of Resistance in the struggle against "Israel" and the United States.

When members of the Palestinian group gathered to select a replacement for martyr Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated by "Israel" while in Tehran, Sinwar interrupted the discussions with a letter: the new leader must be someone close to Iran, according to informed Arab and Hamas officials.

"It clearly puts at the top of the group someone who is seen to be much closer to Iran," pointed out Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

The WSJ considered that Sinwar's promotion by senior Hamas members signifies that the Palestinian movement supports his strategy of waging war against "Israel" alongside Iran’s allies.

The report noted that Hamas' news political leader Sinwar seeks to achieve a Palestinian state and "shares Iran’s goal of destroying the state of Israel to achieve it."

Meanwhile, Israeli officials see the move as a significant shift in the relationship between Hamas and Iran.

"The election of Yahya Sinwar as the leader of Hamas must send a clear message to the world that the Palestinian issue is now completely controlled by Iran and Hamas," Israeli occupation Foreign Minister Israel Katz claimed on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, Sinwar was one of the strongest advocates for repairing Hamas’ ties with Iran after the strains of the so-called "Arab Spring".

It mentioned that he first reached out to Iran while serving multiple life sentences in Israeli occupation prisons.

In 2021, after a ceasefire was reached to end the 11-day Operation Seif Al-Quds and confrontations with the Israeli occupation military, Sinwar said Hamas was thankful to the Iranians for providing money, weapons, and expertise.

"They [Iran] weren’t with us on the ground. But they were with us," he indicated. 

In a related context, Jackie Khoury, an Arab affairs analyst at the Israeli Army Radio, suggested that Hamas leadership is aware that "Israel" and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are not inclined toward a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal, adding that with Sinwar's election, the Palestinian movement has officially shifted the situation on the ground to the field level, going from diplomacy to the battlefield.

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