Malaysia is mourning the death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Saturday, as he condemned the assassination and asserted that Israel’s efforts to undermine the Palestinian liberation movement would not succeed.
The death of Sinwar, the mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history, had raised hopes of a turning point in the Israel-Gaza war, including for families of Israeli hostages and Gazans enduring a dire humanitarian crisis.
But Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, who mourned Sinwar in a video statement last week, reiterated the Palestinian group’s position that no hostages would be released “unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops”.
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.
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How Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief believed to be October 7 mastermind
How Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief believed to be October 7 mastermind
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.