Palestinian extremist group Hamas confirmed on Friday the death of its leader Yehya al-Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks on Israel that fueled the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of Hamas’s political wing, told the Hamas-run al-Aqsa broadcaster that he mourned the death of “martyr” al-Sinwar, a day after Israel carried out his killing in southern Gaza had announced.
However, hopes that al-Sinwar’s death could immediately result in a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas were 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 are still alive – would not be returned until Israel ends its “aggression” by withdrawing from Gaza and releasing Palestinian prisoners.
The pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia, meanwhile, vowed to escalate its attacks on Israel in southern Lebanon, weeks after Israeli forces launched a ground offensive in the region.
The group said in a statement that it “announced the transition to a new and escalating phase in the confrontation with the Israeli enemy, which will be reflected in the events and developments of the coming days.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said at least 15 projectiles were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, triggering air raid sirens in several settlements.
The IDF said it hit about 150 targets in Gaza and Lebanon in the past day.
The latest developments come more than a year after the October 7 attacks ordered by al-Sinwar, which killed around 1,200 people and took 250 hostage into Gaza.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, but Israeli forces have failed to locate the elusive al-Sinwar until this week.
Late Thursday, the 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 building, shrouded in dust and rubble. As the drone floats closer, he throws a stick at the remote-controlled plane.
Shortly after the drone footage was captured, the military said al-Sinwar was killed in Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip.
Al-Sinwar had been Hamas’s top commander in Gaza since 2017 before being named the militant group’s overall leader 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 assassinated by Israel in the past year.
Lebanon denounces Iranian interference
Separately on Friday, Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati sharply criticized Iran for trying to meddle in his country’s affairs.
He instructed Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to summon Iran’s deputy ambassador, according to a report by Lebanese state news agency NNA.
Mikati referred to a statement by Iran’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who had offered negotiations between Tehran and Paris on the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which was adopted to put an end to to the previous war in Lebanon in 2006.
The resolution stipulated that both Israel and Hezbollah must withdraw from an area in southern Lebanon between the Litani River and the Israeli border.
It also called on Hezbollah and others to disarm and set up the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a peacekeeping mission to patrol the area.
“We are surprised by this position, which represents an open interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon,” Mikati reportedly said.
The government in Beirut is working with all of Lebanon’s friends, including France, to push Israel toward a ceasefire, he said.
“The subject of negotiations to implement the international Resolution 1701 is undertaken by the Lebanese state, and everyone is obliged to support it in this direction, and not try to impose new mandates that are rejected by all national and sovereign considerations ”, said Mikati.
For years, Iran has exerted significant influence over Lebanese politics and public life through Hezbollah, which has established a state within a state.
