Doha   -  Palestinian group Hamas on Friday confirmed its leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed, a day after Israel announced his death in Gaza.

“We mourn the great leader, the martyred brother, Yahya Sinwar, Abu Ibrahim,” Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said in a recorded video statement broadcast by Al Jazeera.

Israel announced Sinwar’s death on Thursday, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “heavy blow” to the Palestinian group Israeli forces have been fighting in Gaza more than a year.

In his statement, Hayya said Hamas would not release the captives until the war in Gaza ends.

The hostages “will not return... unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops,” the senior Hamas official said. He called on Israel to withdraw from Gaza and release Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.