Iran: Fight against Israel continues after Hamas leader's death

The killing of Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar by Israeli forces on Wednesday will not stop the struggle against Israel, according to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"His death is painful, but the axis of resistance [against Israel] will live on and continue the fight," Khamenei was quoted as saying on his official website on Saturday.

Al-Sinwar was a colourful personality of the resistance, "who has now ascended to the heaven of martyrs," Khamenei said.

The slain Hamas leader is considered the mastermind behind the massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead and triggered the current Gaza war.

After his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh and the head of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, Hassan Nasrallah, al-Sinwar was the third Islamist leader to be killed in just a few months.

Israel's military killed al-Sinwar in the Gaza Strip and Nasrallah in Lebanon, while Haniyeh's death in the Iranian capital Tehran was also attributed to Israel.

Experts see the targeted killings as a bitter setback for Iran, which is closely allied with both Islamist groups.