Hamas confirms death of leader Yahya Sinwar

Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday confirmed its leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed, a day after Israel announced his death in Gaza.

“We mourn the great leader, the martyred brother, Yahya 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.

Israel announced Sinwar’s death on Thursday, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “heavy blow” to the Palestinian group Israeli forces have been fighting in Gaza more than a year.

Hamas’s October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures that includes hostages killed in captivity.