Expected stronger intervention: Hamas official on Hezbollah's backing in war with Israel

A senior Hamas official told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Palestinian militant group had expected stronger intervention from Hezbollah in its war with Israel, in a rare public appeal to its allies in the region.

Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad said in an interview in Beirut that “we need more” from allies including the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in light of the brutal Israeli air campaign in the besieged Gaza enclave.

The Israeli military campaign in Gaza comes in response to an attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, many of them civilians. More than 200 people were dragged back to Gaza as hostages.

The rising death toll in Gaza is unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Thursday more than 7,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict, a figure that could not be independently verified.

Also Watch: Hamas delegation visits Russia as Israel’s invasion looms: report