Hamas vows no hostage release until war ends

JERUSALEM (AFP) —Hamas vowed Friday not to release the hostages seized during its 7 October attack on Israel until the Gaza war ends, as it mourned the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar.

The killing of Sinwar, the mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, had raised hopes of a turning point in the war, including for families of the Israeli hostages and Gazans enduring a dire humanitarian crisis.

But Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, who mourned Sinwar in a video statement, reiterated the Palestinian group’s position that no hostages would be released “unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops.”

Israeli forces pummelled Gaza over the course of the day, with a strike near Jabalia on Friday night causing “33 deaths and dozens of wounded,” according to Gaza civil defense agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal.

Earlier in the day, rescuers recovered the bodies of three Palestinian children from the rubble of their home, also in the north of the territory, the agency said.

“We always thought that when this moment arrived, the war would end and our lives would return to normal,” Jemaa Abou Mendi, a 21-year-old Gaza resident, told Agence France-Presse, referring to Sinwar’s death.

“But unfortunately, the reality on the ground is quite the opposite. The war has not stopped, and the killings continue unabated.”

Sinwar was Israel’s most wanted man, and his death — announced by the Israeli military on Thursday — deals a major blow to the already weakened group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Sinwar’s killing an “important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas.”

While it did not spell the end of the war, it was “the beginning of the end,” he added.