Hamas' Sinwar Issues Rare Letter Thanking Hezbollah Chief For Sending Thousands Of Rockets Against Israel

Hamas chief Yehya Sinwar, who is believed to be on the run in tunnels underneath Gaza, has taken the rare step of sending a letter to the leader of Lebanese Hezbollah's Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah 'thanking' him for taking the fight to Israel in the north. At this point throughout the eleven-month conflict, Hezbollah has launched literally many thousands of rockets on northern Israel, and there's been daily tit-for-tat exchanges with Israel.

"Your blessed actions have expressed your solidarity on the fronts of the Axis of Resistance, supporting and engaging in the battle," Sinwar told Nasrallah in the letter, Lebanon's al-Manar channel said. Sinwar further hailed the war as "one of the most honorable battles for the Palestinian people." It's clearly part of a defiant effort of Hamas to show Israel and the world that its leader is alive and well.

Hezbollah has reportedly lost more fighters than even in the 2006 war with Israel. At this point an estimated 500 of its members have been killed, including top military commander Fuad Shukr.

Wednesday through Thursday has witnessed another uptick in missiles waves, compared to the relative low number of missiles sent from Lebanon in the prior weeks. Starting Wednesday a barrage of 100 rockets pounded northern Israel, with 60 of them coming within a single hour, local reports said.

A Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile attack also wounded a 39-year old Israeli reservist who was guarding a kibbutz. Israel in response launched attacks on southern Lebanon with fighter jets and several drones.

And overnight and into the early morning of hours of Friday at least 20 more rockets were unleashed on the northern city of Safed, cause forest fires in the area. The Iron Dome appears to have intercepted many of the inbound projectiles.

Panic inside Safed prayer service during overnight rocket attack from Hezbollah:

The city of Safed is not often targeted and is somewhat distant from the border, and so it remains full of civilians:

Safed lies some 13 kilometers (eight miles) from the border with Lebanon, and unlike many communities nearer the frontier, the city of some 38,000 remains largely inhabited, with attacks that deep into Israel relatively uncommon.

In its statement claiming the attack, Hezbollah said that it had launched the barrage as revenge for what it said was an Israeli strike in the village of Kfarjouz on Thursday. The Iran-backed group claimed to have targeted a key air defense site north of Safed.

The uptick in fighting late this week also witnessed a drone entering Israel from Lebanon. It reportedly crashed in a non-inhabited area of the Upper Galilee in northern Israel.

Below is a summary of some of the latest key developments on Friday via Al Jazeera:

• Gaza’s Civil Defence said four Palestinians were killed and others wounded in two separate Israeli strikes in central Gaza.
• Hezbollah said it launched multiple attacks, using different weapons, on Israeli sites close to the Lebanese border, claiming direct hits.
• The Israeli army confirmed the attacks, including a drone that was launched from Lebanon, without reporting any causalities.
• The WHO chief repeated his “call for a ceasefire, which is critical for rebuilding the health system to cope with escalating needs” in Gaza.
• Videos shared on social media showed Israelis blocking the Namir Road in Tel Aviv to denounce the way the government handles the war in Gaza.

Below: Missile intercepts over Safed overnight...

At least 80,000 to 100,000 Israeli citizens remain in a permanent state of evacuation from their homes due to the fighting with Hezbollah in the north, which has been constant since Oct.7. But so far the situation has not spiraled into a full war or Israeli invasion of Lebanon.