Hamas confirms leader Yahya Sinwar killed in combat in Gaza by Israeli army

Group says captives held in Gaza will not return until Israel stops its attacks on Gaza and withdraws its forces.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed in combat in Gaza with the Israeli military, the Palestinian group confirmed.

Khalil Hayya, the head of Hamas in Gaza, said in a televised address on Friday that the 62-year-old leader was “steadfast, brave and intrepid” and “sacrificed his life to the cause of our liberation.”

“He met his end standing brave, with his head held high, holding his firearm, firing until the last breath, until the last moment of his life,” he told the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV.

“Since his early days, he was engaged in his struggle as a resistant fighter. He stood defiant behind Israeli bars and after his release in a swapped deal, he continued with his struggle and his dedication to the cause.”

Hayya added that Sinwar’s “martyrdom” and leaders who preceded him “will only increase the strength and resilience of our movement.”

He said, however, that that captives held in Gaza will not return until Israel stops its attacks on Gaza and withdraws its forces from the besieged enclave.

“Hamas will continue until the establishment of the Palestinian state on all Palestinian soil with Jerusalem as its capital.”

On Thursday, the Israeli military announced that Sinwar was killed in a surprise firefight in Rafah, in southern Gaza.

“The forces identified three terrorists who were going from home to home on the run,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a briefing. “Sinwar ran away alone into one of the buildings, and our forces scanned the area with a drone.”

Drone footage released by the military showed Sinwar covered in dust, sitting in an armchair with one hand severely injured and his head covered in a traditional scarf.

“We found him with a gun and 40 thousand shekels ($10,750),” Hagari said.

Footage showed Sinwar throwing a stick at the approaching drone before being shot in the head.

The military conducted DNA testing, dental examinations and other forensic enquiries that confirmed his identity.

The Israeli military and media regularly claimed the Hamas leader was hiding deep in the tunnels under Gaza alongside hostages seized by his fighters during the October 7 attack.

“In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area,” a military statement said on Thursday.

Sinwar’s death follows Israeli assassinations of other Hamas leaders and commanders.

He was named the group’s leader on August 6 as a successor to former political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31.

Israel considered Sinwar to be the architect of the Hamas-led October 7 attack in southern Israel, which triggered the current conflict in Gaza in which Israeli forces have killed at least 42,500 people, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Born in a refugee camp in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Sinwar spent half his adult life in Israeli prisons.

He was released by Israel in 2011 in a prisoner swap for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit with more than 1,000 other Palestinians and was considered the most senior and prominent of all of those released.

His death represents a massive blow to the Palestinian movement that has been engaged in battles with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip for more than a year.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah vowed to escalate fighting against Israel, while Iran said “the spirit of resistance” would be strengthened by the death of its Palestinian ally.

Many world leaders hoped his death would pave the way for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of captives.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Sinwar’s killing a milestone but vowed to keep up the war. “We have before us a great opportunity to stop the axis of evil and create a different future,” he said.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies