TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar will not stop the “Axis of Resistance” and that Hamas would live on, according to Reuters news agency.
In a statement, Khamenei said, “His loss is certainly painful for the Axis of Resistance, but this front did not stop advancing with the martyrdom of prominent leaders,”. “Hamas is alive and will remain alive” he further said.
Earlier, Hamas on Friday confirmed the death of its newly appointed chief, Yahya Sinwar, in yesterday’s Israeli attack.
In a video statement, Hamas said that Sinwar’s death will “build strength,” adding that they will not release hostages until the Gaza war ends and Israeli forces withdraw from the besieged and bombarded territory, senior Hamas official Khalil Hayya says. “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.
READ ALSO: Hamas Confirms Yahya Sinwar’s Killing
Yahya Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in the Gaza city of Khan Younis. He was an early member of Hamas, which was formed in 1987. Sinwar went on to lead the Palestinian group’s security arm, which worked to purge it of Israeli informants, the Associated Press reported. He served 22 years in prison in Israel.
Sinwar was eventually released in a 2011 prisoner exchange that freed Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, at which point Sinwar returned to his role with Hamas. He then ascended to a leadership position in Gaza in 2017.
