Yahya Sinwar succeeds slain Haniyeh as top Hamas leader
Yahya Sinwar has been declared the new leader of the Palestinian militant movement by Hamas. Sinwar was until recently only the highest commander in the Gaza Strip. He succeeds Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed last week in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Sinwar is believed to be the mastermind behind the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed 1,200 civilians and soldiers in Israel. The 61-year-old Sinwar has been the most wanted man in Gaza for years.


Nasrallah: 'Our response will be strong and effective'
Hezbollah's response to the killing of a top commander will be "strong and effective," Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech to his supporters. He spoke via video link at a memorial event for commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed by Israel last week.

Hezbollah will carry out a retaliatory strike alone or together with its allies, Nasrallah said. One of those allies is Iran, which in turn wants to retaliate for the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran's Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Iran does not want an escalation, but that Israel must be punished.

In his speech, Nasrallah referred to an attack today in which Hezbollah drones penetrated deeper into northern Israel than ever before. Israel has every reason to be concerned, Nasrallah said. He went on to say that Israel's wait for a retaliatory strike is part of the "punishment" because the fight "is also psychological."

Just before his speech began, Israeli fighter jets broke the sound barrier three times over Beirut, causing panic in the city.