The Palestinian militant group Hamas confirmed on Friday that its leader, Yahya Sinwar, had been killed, a day after Israel announced his death in Gaza.
“We mourn the great leader, the martyred brother, Yahya Sinwar, Abu Ibrahim,” said Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official based in Qatar, in a video statement broadcast by Al Jazeera.
Sinwar, who became Israel’s most wanted man following the October 7, 2023 attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, was officially declared dead by Israeli authorities on Thursday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described his death as a heavy blow to Hamas, which Israeli forces have been battling in Gaza for over a year.
The October 7 assault by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, primarily civilians, based on official Israeli figures compiled by AFP.
Militants also captured 251 people, with 97 hostages still held in Gaza, including 34 whom Israeli officials believe are deceased.
In his statement, al-Hayya said Hamas would not release any hostages until the conflict in Gaza comes to an end.
“The hostages will not return unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops,” he said, further calling for Israel to withdraw from Gaza and free Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Israel’s ongoing military campaign, aimed at dismantling Hamas and rescuing the hostages, has resulted in the deaths of 42,500 people in Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
These figures are regarded as credible by the UN.
Al-Hayya emphasized that Sinwar’s death would only strengthen Hamas’s resolve, calling him one of the leaders and symbols of the movement who preceded him.
Sinwar, who had been directing Hamas’s military operations in Gaza, was appointed as the group’s overall leader in August, following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of Hamas’s political bureau, in Tehran on July 31.
Sinwar had not been seen publicly since the October 7 attack, with Israeli commanders believing he had taken refuge in Hamas’s extensive tunnel network beneath Gaza.
AFP
