Iran, Afghanistan Pay Tribute To Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar

By Shakir Husain

NEW DELHI, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- Iran and Afghanistan on Friday paid tribute to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who died while fighting the Israel army

The 62-year-old Hamas Political Bureau Chief was a "great hero of Palestine's liberation path", Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Yahya Sinwar was a branch of the pure tree of honourable resistance against the occupation and oppression by Zionism, who spent his entire blessed life fighting for the legal and human rights of the Palestinian people and freeing them from the yoke of occupation and apartheid," it said.

On Friday, Hamas confirmed that Sinwar was killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday. This was confirmed by Hamas’ political bureau member Khalil al-Hayya in a statement released via the Telegram account of Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry recalled that Sinwar spent 22 years of his life in the Zionist regime's prison during which he wrote several works, including the novel ‘The Thorn and the Clove’.

Sinwar became chief of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh by Israel in Tehran in July.

Afghanistan also mourned Sinwar's death.

"It is with profound sorrow that we have received the news of the martyrdom of Yahya Sinwar, leader of the Hamas Islamic Movement, who was martyred in an attack by Israeli Zionist occupiers," the Afghan government said.

The executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) described Sinwar as "the great national leader".

It denounced the continuation of the Jewish regime's "brutal massacres and the war of genocide against our people and our Arab nation in Palestine and Lebanon".

Meanwhile, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a meeting with senior Hamas representatives.

He offered condolences on Sinwar's death and discussed the catastrophic humanitarian situation in northern Gaza.

The talks also covered inter-Palestinian reconciliation process and the possibility of a ceasefire and prisoner swap, TRT World reported.

Meanwhile, the  United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed a third attack by Israel on the agency's facilities in the last week, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, told the daily press briefing at the UN Headquarters on Friday.

He said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported conditions in the north of Gaza as increasingly dire and dangerous for civilians, with families trying to survive under heavy bombardment.

The Israeli military has blocked access to the Jabalia refugee camp, where dozens of people are reportedly trapped under the rubble.

"In previous instances, OCHA accompanied rescue teams whose access was facilitated too late, resulting in only dead bodies being recovered," the UN spokesperson said.

-- BERNAMA