Deputy leader says group’s conditions for a ceasefire will be maintained, as Israel shows no sign of accepting them

Hamas has acknowledged the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar but vowed to keep fighting, in the face of international calls for an immediate ceasefire.

“We are continuing Hamas’s path,” Khalil al-Hayya, Sinwar’s deputy said from exile in Qatar, adding that the slain leader’s conditions for a ceasefire would not be compromised.

Those conditions included a cessation of Israeli military operations in Gaza, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) from the occupied coastal strip, and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Hayya insisted that Hamas would emerge stronger than ever despite the death of its leader, but most experts predict that Sinwar’s killing was a significant blow to the movement, at least in the short term.

MBFC
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