Iran "will intensify resistance" to Hamas chief Shinwar killing

Iran has warned of a hard-line response to the killing of Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, saying resistance will grow.

On the 17th local time, Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Irabani said in response to the Israeli announcement that Sinwar was killed in an Israeli attack.

Earlier, the Israeli military issued a statement saying it had eliminated Hamas leader Shinwar after a year-long chase through an operation in Rafa, Gaza's southernmost city, the day before.

Sinwar was the architect and mastermind of Hamas' raid on Israel on October 7 last year, following Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran in late July.

Israeli media said Sinwar's death was a serious blow to Iran and its axis of resistance.

There has been no real leader left in Hamas since the death of Sinwar, and Hezbollah has been on the defensive since Nasrallah's bombing late last month.