Hamas vowed on Friday it would not release the hostages it seized during its October 7 attack on Israel until the Gaza war ends, as it mourned the death of its leader, Yahya Sinwar.
The hostages "will not return... unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops, there is a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and our heroic prisoners are released from the occupation's prisons," Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said in a recorded video statement.
Hamas's confirmation of the death of Sinwar, the mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, came a day after Israel dealt a massive blow to the group with the announcement of his death.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Sinwar's killing an "important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas", adding that while it did not spell the end of the war, it was "the beginning of the end".
In Gaza, there was little hope Sinwar's killing would bring an end to the war.
"We always thought that when this moment arrived the war would end and our lives would return to normal," Jemaa Abou Mendi, a 21-year-old Gaza resident, told AFP.
"But unfortunately, the reality on the ground is quite the opposite. The war has not stopped, and the killings continue unabated."
Israel conducted air strikes on Gaza on Friday, with several raids overnight and early morning pummelling the territory, according to an AFP journalist on the ground.
According to Gaza's civil defence agency, rescuers recovered the bodies of three Palestinian children from the rubble of their home in the north of the territory after it was hit at dawn.
Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi vowed to keep fighting "until we capture all the terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre and bring all the hostages home".
‘Once in a lifetime opportunity’
Some Israelis hailed the news of Sinwar's death as a sign of better things to come.
Attending a Tel Aviv rally demanding the hostages' release, 60-year-old Sisil, who gave only her first name, said his killing presented a "once in a lifetime opportunity" for "a hostage deal to end the war".
US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel's top arms provider, said Sinwar's death was a "moment of justice" and "an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas".
Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government and international mediators to leverage "this major achievement to secure hostages' return".
According to a statement from Netanyahu's office, Biden called to congratulate him on Sinwar's killing, with the two leaders vowing to seize "an opportunity to promote the release of the hostages".
With AFP
Comments