The leader of Hamas announced that he is ready for a "long war" in Gaza

H AMAS leader Yahya Sinwar said on Monday, nearly a year after the war in Gaza began . announced that it has the resources to continue the fight against Israel with the support of regional allies. In a letter to the group's Yemeni allies, Sinwar said, "We are ready to fight a long and destructive war."

In a letter to Yemen's Houthis, Sinwar said the "enemy's political will is breaking" in the more than 11-month-old war in Gaza and elsewhere in the region, including in Lebanon and Iraq, with groups linked to Iran.

"Our joint efforts with you and the groups in Lebanon and Iraq will break the enemy and defeat him," Sinwar said.

As deadly fighting continues in the occupied Gaza Strip, medics and rescue workers said Monday that at least two dozen people were killed in Israeli airstrikes.

The latest strikes came as Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that prospects for an end to fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon were dimming and that the regional conflict could spread to wider areas .

Osama Ham, a senior Hamas official, passed away to AFP at the end of the week The group said it was "capable of continuing" the fight despite the losses , adding that "new generations have been recruited" to replace the slain fighters.

Meanwhile, Gallant said last week that Hamas, whose attack on October 7 sparked the war, is now "not present" as a military force in Gaza.

Independent UN human rights experts have warned that Israel risks international isolation over its actions in Gaza and called on Western countries to hold them accountable.

Tensions have risen along Israel's northern border with Lebanon amid fears the violence could escalate into a full-scale war.

"As Hezbollah continues to associate itself with H AMAS and refuses to end the conflict, the likelihood of an agreement is diminishing," Gallant told visiting US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein.