Hamas vows no hostage release till war ends

Palestinian group mourns Sinwar's death

JERUSALEM:

Hamas vowed on Friday it would not release the hostages it seized during its October 7 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.

However as Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya mourned Sinwar in a video statement on Friday, he reiterated the group's position that no hostages would be released "unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops".

And Israeli forces pummelled Gaza with air strikes on Friday, with rescuers recovering the bodies of three Palestinian children from the rubble of their home in the north of the territory, according to Gaza's civil defence 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 AFP.

"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.

After Sinwar's killing was announced, some hailed the news as a sign of better things to come.

US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel's top arms provider, said Sinwar's death was "an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas".

Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged Israel's government and international mediators to leverage "this major achievement to secure hostages' return".