Tel Aviv/Gaza, Oct 19, (dpa/GNA) – The Palestinian extremist group Hamas, on Friday confirmed the death of its leader Yehya al-Sinwar, considered the mastermind of the October 7 attacks on Israel that sparked the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy head of Hamas’ political wing, told the Hamas-run al-Aqsa broadcaster that he mourned the death of the “martyr” al-Sinwar, one day after Israel announced his killing in southern Gaza.
However, hopes that al-Sinwar’s death could immediately result in a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas were being dashed, as fighting continued in both Lebanon and Gaza on Friday.
Al-Hayya said the remaining hostages, believed to number around 101, although not all of them are still alive, would only be returned when Israel ends its “aggression” by pulling out of Gaza, and releasing Palestinian prisoners.
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia meanwhile vowed to escalate its attacks against Israel in southern Lebanon, weeks after Israeli troops launched a ground offensive in the region.
The group said in a statement that it was announcing “the transition to a new and escalating phase in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy, which will be shown in the events and developments of the coming days.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said at least 15 projectiles were fired at northern Israel from Lebanon, causing air-raid sirens to sound in several settlements.
In the course of the past day, the IDF said it struck some 150 targets in Gaza and Lebanon.
The latest developments come more than a year on from the October 7 attacks, ordered by al-Sinwar, which saw around 1,200 people killed and 250 taken as hostages to Gaza.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, but Israeli forces failed to locate the elusive al-Sinwar until this week.
Late on Thursday, IDF released a video showing what it said were al-Sinwar’s final moments.
The footage, recorded by a drone, shows a man sitting in a bombed-out building, cloaked in dust and debris. As the drone hovers closer, he throws a stick at the remote-controlled aircraft.
Shortly after the drone footage was taken, the military said that al-Sinwar was killed in Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip.
Al-Sinwar had been Hamas’ top commander in Gaza since 2017, before being appointed overall leader of the militant group earlier this year, following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
It is unclear who could replace him, as a number of leading figures have been killed by Israel in the past year.
Israeli army says it also killed al-Sinwar’s bodyguard
The Israeli military said on Friday that it has also killed al-Sinwar’s bodyguard.
They reported that Mahmoud Hamdan was taken out during a clash with Israeli troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. He died on Friday, just 200 metres away from the spot where the Israeli military killed al-Sinwar on Wednesday, the army said.
Hamdan was also responsible for guarding the six Israeli hostages who were murdered by his men in August, the Israeli army said.
GNA