Lebanon's Hezbollah announced Friday it was entering a new and escalating phase in its war with Israel, while Iran declared that "the spirit of resistance will be strengthened" following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces during a raid in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday, marking a crucial moment in the yearlong conflict.
Western leaders viewed his death as a potential turning point for peace, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the war would continue until all hostages captured by Hamas were freed.
"Today we have settled the score. Today evil has been dealt a blow, but our task is still not complete," Netanyahu said in a recorded video statement after the death was confirmed Thursday.
"To the dear hostage families, I say: This is an important moment in the war. We will continue full force until all your loved ones, our loved ones, are home."
Sinwar, who was named Hamas’ overall leader following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, was believed to have been hiding in the warren of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.
He was killed during a gunbattle in southern Gaza on Wednesday by Israeli troops.
The military released a drone video of what it said was Sinwar, sitting on an armchair and covered in dust inside a destroyed building.
Hamas has not made any comment, but sources within the group said indications suggest Israeli troops indeed killed Sinwar.
Chief obstacle
Despite Western hopes for a cease-fire, Sinwar's death could escalate hostilities in the Middle East, where the prospect of an even wider conflict has grown.
Israel launched a ground campaign in Lebanon this month and is now planning a response to an Oct. 1 missile attack carried out by Iran, an ally of Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
But the death of the man who "planned" the 2023 attack, in which Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel and captured more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, could also influence the outcome of the stalled efforts to end the war.
Israel has massacred more than 42,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who spoke to Netanyahu by phone, said Sinwar's death provided a chance for the conflict in Gaza to finally end and for Israeli hostages to be brought home.
The U.S. wants to kick-start talks on a proposal to achieve a cease-fire and secure the release of hostages, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, calling Sinwar the "chief obstacle" to ending the war.
"That obstacle has obviously been removed. I can't predict that that means whoever replaces (Sinwar) will agree to a cease-fire, but it does remove what has been in recent months the chief obstacle to getting one," he said.
In recent weeks, Sinwar had refused to negotiate at all, Miller said.
Iran indicated no sign the killing would shift its support. "The spirit of resistance will be strengthened" following the death of Sinwar, its mission to the United Nations said.
Hezbollah was also defiant, announcing "the transition to a new and escalating phase in the confrontation with Israel."
The Israeli military said Friday it had also killed Muhammad Hassin Ramal, Hezbollah's commander of the Tayibe area in southern Lebanon.