JERUSALEM — As it grieved the loss of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas declared Friday that it would not release the captives captured during its October 7 raid on Israel until the Gaza war ended.
The assassination of Sinwar, the brains behind of the bloodiest attack in Israeli history, generated hopes of a watershed moment in the war, including for relatives of Israeli hostages and Gazans facing a terrible humanitarian crisis.
However, in a video statement, Qatar-based Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya grieved Sinwar and maintained the Palestinian group’s stand that no hostages would be released “unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops.”
Israeli soldiers bombarded Gaza throughout the day, with one strike near Jabalia on Friday night resulting in “33 deaths and dozens of wounded,” according to Gaza civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal.
Earlier in the day, rescuers retrieved the dead of three Palestinian children from the wreckage of their home in the north of the region, according to the agency.
“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 of 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 killing, reported by the Israeli military on Thursday, dealt a significant blow to the already depleted group.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Sinwar’s death as “an important milestone in the decline of Hamas’ evil rule.”
While it did not mean the end of the conflict, it did mark “the beginning of the end,” he noted.