Hamas confirms death of its leader Yahya Sinwar-Xinhua

People perform the absentee funeral prayer (Salat al-Gha'ib) for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar at a destroyed mosque in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Oct. 18, 2024. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Hamas confirmed on Friday the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar, without giving details about how Sinwar died or who would be his successor.

In a statement, Hamas said the hostages in the Gaza Strip "will not return unless the aggression on Gaza stops, the withdrawal (of Israeli forces) from it, and our heroic prisoners are released from the occupation prisons."

Meanwhile, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a statement that the resistance "will continue and escalate until the legitimate goals of our people are achieved."

Also on Friday, Khalil Al-Hayya, deputy chief of Hamas in Gaza, mourned Sinwar's death in a televised speech.

Calling his death inspiration for a new generation who will confront the Israeli "occupation" and liberate the Palestinian territories, Al-Hayya said his movement is holding its requirements to release the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

"For those who are crying over the fate of the Israeli hostages, we will never release them without ending the war, reaching a prisoner swap and ending the Israeli blockade in Gaza," he said.

On Thursday evening, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency confirmed in a joint statement that Sinwar was killed in an Israeli attack on southern Gaza on Wednesday.

Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 others taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 42,500, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Friday. ■