Hamas is alive despite the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar in an Israeli military operation in Gaza. This was assured today l’ayatollah Ali KhameneiIran’s supreme leader.
“His loss is certainly painful for the resistance front” against Israel, he declared, guaranteeing that “it will not end with Sinwar’s martyrdom at all.”
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres“while not commenting on developments of this nature” released a statement through spokesperson Farhan Haq following Sinwar’s death in which he expressed the hope that “this will lead to an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages and unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza.” Strong criticism was leveled yesterday by Israel at Guterres for his failure to comment on the announcement of the killing of the Hamas leader.
The Secretary-General has been in contact with “several officials” at the United Nations, his spokesperson said. Among these, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, who has already invited the parties to engage in dialogue and reach an agreement. “We are at a critical point. We must seize the opportunity to silence the guns and free the hostages immediately.”
Warning sirens in Tel Aviv, drone hits Caesarea
Air alert sirens sounded in some areas of Tel Aviv due to the infiltration of a drone in the Glilot area, the Israel Defense Forces announced today without specifying whether the aircraft was intercepted or whether it hit the ground. The area in question is where an important IDF intelligence base and the Mossad headquarters are located. The Times of Israel reports.
A drone from Lebanon therefore hit the city of Caesarea today. The Israeli Defense Forces made this known. Two other drones, they later announced, were intercepted. The drone “hit a structure in the Caesarea area” without causing casualties or injuries, the army said.
Scholz in Istanbul for meeting with Erdogan
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Istanbul yesterday evening for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Among the key points on the agenda of the talks are the Middle East, migration and security, as well as the war in Ukraine and bilateral economic ties. The meeting scheduled for today follows the meeting Scholz had with Erdogan last month in New York on the sidelines of the work of the United Nations General Assembly.