Middle East latest: Hezbollah says its war with Israel is entering a new phase

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said Friday it is entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops, as the region reckons with the killing of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza.

Hamas acknowledged Sinwar’s death and described him as a martyr. Sinwar was 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 Sinwar’s death would pave the way for an end to the war, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech announcing Sinwar’s death that “Our war is not yet ended.”

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, 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, who do not distinguish combatants from civilians. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.