Hamas has confirmed that its political leader, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, and the resistance group reiterated that hostages taken from Israel a year ago will not be released until there is a ceasefire in Gaza and a withdrawal of Israeli occupation troops.
"Those prisoners will not return to you before the end of the aggression on Gaza and the withdrawal from Gaza," Hamas official Khalil al Hayya said on Friday.
In a video statement, Hamas heralded Sinwar as a hero who "ascended as a heroic martyr, advancing and not retreating, brandishing his weapon, engaging and confronting the occupation army at the forefront of the ranks".
The statement appeared to refer to a video the Israeli military circulated of Sinwar’s apparent last moments in which a man sits on a chair in severely damaged building, badly wounded and covered in dust.
In the video, the man raises his hand and flings a stick at an approaching Israeli drone.
Israeli offensive to continue
Sinwar’s killing, in what appeared to be a chance front-line encounter with Israeli troops on Wednesday, could shift the dynamics of the Gaza war even as Israel presses its offensive against Hezbollah with ground troops in southern Lebanon and air strikes in other areas of the country.
Hezbollah has fired rockets into Israel nearly every day since the Israeli war on Gaza began.
Israel has pledged to "destroy Hamas" in besieged Gaza, and killing Sinwar was a top military priority. Photos which were apparently taken by Israeli troops on the scene showed the body of a man who appeared to be him, half-buried in rubble and with deadly wounds.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech announcing the killing on Thursday night that “our war is not yet ended".
In Israel, families of hostages still held in Gaza called on the Israeli government to resume negotiations to bring their loved ones home, saying they were concerned about a possible prisoner swap deal after Sinwar's killing.
There are about 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, at least 30 of whom Israel claims are dead.
Netanyahu was planning to convene a special meeting on Friday to discuss potential ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, an Israeli official with knowledge of the negotiations said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations issued a statement honoring Sinwar, emphasising that he died on the battlefield and not in hiding.
"When Muslims look up to martyr Sinwar standing on the battlefield — in combat attire and out in the open, not in a hideout, facing the enemy — the spirit of resistance will be strengthened.”
In Lebanon, the Hezbollah group issued a statement early Friday saying its fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones against Israel for the first time in recent days.
Hezbollah's statement appeared to refer to an explosives-laden drone that evaded Israel’s multilayered air-defence system and slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel last Sunday, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens.
The group also announced earlier this week that it fired a new type of missile called Qader 2 toward the suburbs of Tel Aviv.
Invasion in Lebanon
The Israeli military said it would activate an additional reserve brigade to the north of its country to support troops invading southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said its fighters were working according to “plans prepared in advance” to battle invading Israeli troops in several parts of south Lebanon.
It also announced several missile and artillery attacks on Israeli forces occupying villages in southern Lebanon’s border area overnight and Friday morning.
In one case, the group said it fired a heavy missile barrage at Israeli soldiers who were trying to evacuate those wounded in an earlier strike. The group also said it had fired “large missile salvos” at a military barracks in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and at the Zvulun area north of Haifa.
Earlier this week, Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Kassem warned that the group would continue to target wider areas of Israel since Tel Aviv's brutal onslaught began last year, killing more than 42,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians.
