Hamas mourns Raisi death, hails his ‘support for Palestinian resistance’

This handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency on shows Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi (R) meeting with the leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on June 20, 2023. Agence France-Presse

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — Hamas on Monday expressed its condolences for Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash, mourning in a statement an “honorable supporter” of the Tehran-backed Palestinian militant group.

Hamas said it appreciated Raisi’s “support for the Palestinian resistance, and tireless efforts in solidarity” with Palestinians since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza following the group’s October 7 attack.

The militant group said it appreciated Raisi and Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who was also killed in the Sunday crash, for their “intense political and diplomatic efforts to stop the Zionist (Israeli) aggression against our Palestinian people”.

READ: Iran president, foreign minister found dead at helicopter crash site

Iran, which supports Hamas financially and militarily, has hailed the militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel as a “success” but denied any involvement.

On April 13, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones in Tehran’s first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory.

That attack was itself in retaliation for an air strike — widely blamed on Israel — that leveled the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards on April 1.

READ: Helicopter carrying Iran president in ‘accident’, search underway

Since the start of the Gaza war, violence has surged across the region often involving Iran-backed Hamas allies. Israel has been engaged in near-daily clashes along its northern border with the powerful Tehran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah.