The Palestinian militant group Hamas confirmed this Friday that its leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza, a day after Israel announced his death.
"We mourn the great leader, the martyred brother, Jahya Sinwar, Abu Ibrahim," Qatar-based 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, 2023 attack, the deadliest in Israeli history.
In his statement, Hayya said that Hamas will not release the hostages it took from Israel during the attack until the war in Gaza ends.
The hostages "will not be returned... unless the aggression against our people in Gaza is stopped," 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 draw strength from Sinwar's killing, which he said placed him among the "leaders and symbols of the movement that preceded him".