Hezbollah says its war with Israel is ‘entering a new phase’

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said on Friday it is entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops, as the region continued to reckon with Israel’s claim that top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza the previous day.

And a statement issued by one of Hamas’s political leaders on Friday tacitly — but not directly — confirmed the death of Mr Sinwar and said that Israel is mistaken if it “believes that killing our leaders means the end of our movement and the struggle of the Palestinian people”.

Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said that past leaders in the organisation had also been killed and “Hamas each time became stronger and more popular, and these leaders became an icon for future generations to continue the journey towards a free Palestine”.

He added that it is “painful and distressing to lose beloved people, especially extraordinary leaders” but that the Palestinian militant group is sure it will be “eventually victorious”.

When asked if the statement was a confirmation of Mr Sinwar’s death, Mr Naim said it was not.

Hamas’s ally Iran released a statement commemorating the Palestinian militant leader through its mission to the United Nations.

Mr Sinwar was believed to be a chief architect of the attack on southern Israel that precipitated the latest escalating conflicts in the Middle East.

Many, from the governments of Israeli allies to exhausted residents of Gaza, expressed hope that Mr Sinwar’s death would pave the way for an end to the war, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech announcing the killing that “our war is not yet ended”.

The statement from Hezbollah’s operations room early on Friday said that Hezbollah’s fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones for the first time.

The statement appears to refer to a drone laden with explosives that evaded Israel’s multilayered air-defence system and slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens.

The group also announced earlier this week that it fired a new type of missile called Qader 2 toward the suburbs of Tel Aviv.

The statement also said that Hezbollah’s air defence units shot down two Israeli Hermes 450 drones this week.

Hezbollah said its fighters are working according to “plans prepared in advance” to battle invading Israeli troops in several parts of south Lebanon.

Iran’s Mission to the United Nations statement honouring Mr Sinwar said: “When US forces dragged a dishevelled Saddam Hussein out of an underground hole, he begged them not to kill him despite being armed.

“Those who regarded Saddam as their model of resistance eventually collapsed.

“However, when Muslims look up to martyr Sinwar standing on the battlefield — in combat attire and out in the open, not in a hideout, facing the enemy — the spirit of resistance will be strengthened.

“He will become a model for the youth and children who will carry forth his path for the liberation of Palestine.

“As long as occupation and aggression exist, resistance will endure, for the martyr remains alive and a source of inspiration.”

Iran and Iraq fought a brutal war in the 1980s that began when Hussein launched an invasion of Iran. It killed more than one million people on both sides.

On October 7 2023, Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.

The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

Israeli police are set to indict a Palestinian from East Jerusalem, who they say planned to carry out an attack on a hostage protest in Tel Aviv.

In a statement on Friday, the police and Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said the man was a supporter of Hamas and other militant groups, and planned to carry out multiple attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers in retribution for Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Israel’s military also said on Friday that its forces killed two militants who crossed into southern Israel from neighbouring Jordan.

The militants entered Israeli territory south of the Dead Sea, the military said.