Archive photo used for demonstration purposes. Yahya Sinwar (R), leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement, greets supporters during a rally in Gaza City on May 24, 2021. Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP.
Doha: Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday confirmed its leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed by the Israeli occupation military in Gaza.
"We mourn the great leader, the martyred brother, Yahya Sinwar, Abu Ibrahim," Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said in a recorded video statement broadcast by Al Jazeera.
Sinwar became Israel's most wanted man after the October 7.
In his statement, Hayya said Hamas would not release the hostages it seized from Israel during the attack until the genocide in Gaza ends.
Archive photo used for demonstration puposes. Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Haya attends the funeral of the slain Hamas political leader in the Qatari capital Doha on August 2, 2024. Photo by Mahmud Hams / AFP.
The hostages "will not return... unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops," the senior Hamas official said, as he called on Israel to withdraw from Gaza and release Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Hayya said the militant group would take strength from Sinwar's killing, which he said has set him among "the leaders and symbols of the movement who preceded him".
