Israel, Hamas vow more war as death of Yahya Sinwar acknowledged

“The war, my dear ones, is not yet over,” Netanyahu told Israelis on Thursday evening, saying fighting would continue until the hostages held by Hamas are freed.

“We have before us a great opportunity to stop the axis of evil,” he added, referring to Iran and its militant allies in the region in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Hamas said its hostages would only be released with a cessation of hostilities in Gaza, an Israeli withdrawal and the release of its prisoners.

“The martyrdom of our brother, leader Yahya Sinwar… will only increase the strength and determination of Hamas and our resistance,” he said, confirming his death in combat.

This rhetoric from the warring sides contrasted with that of some leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who said Sinwar’s death offered a chance for negotiations.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Sinwar had refused talks.

“I can’t predict that this means whoever replaces (Sinwar) will agree to a ceasefire, but it removes what has in recent months been the main obstacle to achieving a ceasefire.” , he declared.

The Israeli government has rejected several attempts by its main ally, the United States, to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, continuing its wars.

Hopes that Sinwar’s death would end the war have collapsed

The Israeli army announced Friday that it had sent another military unit to support its forces operating in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps, where residents said tanks had blown up roads and homes while as they penetrated further into the territory.

Residents of Jabalia in northern Gaza said Israeli tanks reached the heart of the camp, using heavy air and ground fire, after passing through suburbs and residential neighborhoods.

Iran appears largely powerless against Israel’s military might, including American weapons.

A senior diplomat working in Lebanon told Reuters that hopes that Sinwar’s death would end the war seemed misplaced.

“We had hoped throughout this story that getting rid of Sinwar would be the turning point where the wars would end… where everyone would be ready to lay down their arms. It seems that we have made a mistake again,” the diplomat said.

Sinwar, the general leader of Hamas after the assassination of political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July, is believed to have been hiding in the maze of tunnels that Hamas has built beneath the Gaza Strip.

He was killed Wednesday in a shootout by Israeli troops, initially unaware that they had caught their number one enemy, Israeli officials said.

The military released drone video of what it says is Sinwar, sitting on an armchair and covered in dust inside a destroyed building.

He was followed by the drone as he lay dying, the video shows, desperately throwing a stick.

The attacks of October 7, 2023 in Israel left 1,200 dead, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel then killed more than 42,000 people, according to Palestinian officials.

Its offensive left most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents homeless, maimed tens of thousands, caused widespread famine and destroyed hospitals and schools.

Hezbollah, which began firing rockets into Israel in support of its ally Hamas on October 8, is the target of Israel’s intensifying attack on Lebanon, which has killed more than 2,000 people and displaced 1 .2 million people.

Israel killed several of Hamas’s top leaders and decapitated Hezbollah leaders within weeks, mainly through airstrikes.

The killings dealt a blow to what anti-Israel forces call the Axis of Resistance: a group of proxy militant groups that Iran has spent decades supporting in the region.

Iran has shown no signs that Sinwar’s assassination would change its support.

“The spirit of resistance will be strengthened,” its mission to the United Nations said.

Hezbollah was also provocative, announcing “the transition to a new phase of escalation in the confrontation with Israel.”

The families of the Israeli hostages said that while Sinwar’s killing was a success, it would not be complete while the captives were still in Gaza.

– with DPA