Live Updates: Hamas confirms Sinwar’s death as Israel mulls next steps in Gaza

Pro-Iran groups across the Middle East Friday condemned and mourned the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in a Gaza firefight with Israeli soldiers on Wednesday. They vowed retaliation against Israel, which has celebrated eliminating its top target ever since the Oct. 7 attacks last year.

On Friday, Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy chair of Hamas’ political bureau, said in a televised speech that Sinwar “met his end standing brave, with his head held high.” Al-Hayya added that Sinwar’s death "will only increase the strength and resilience of our movement.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mourned Sinwar’s death on the X platform Friday. “His fate,” he wrote, “is not a deterrent but a source of inspiration for resistance fighters across the region, Palestinian and non-Palestinian.”

Houthi spokesperson Mohammad Abdul Salam also offered his condolences on X. He described Sinwar as having “composed heroic epics in confronting the criminal Israeli entity.”

Arab Gulf leaders have not commented on Sinwar’s death. The late Hamas leader had accused Arab governments, mainly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, of “betraying” the Palestinian cause by seeking normalization with Israel.