RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian groups on Friday mourned the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar who was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, confirmed Sinwar’s death on Friday.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee mourned Sinwar as "a national leader" and urged unity and a joining of hands in the face of conspiracies aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause.

The ruling Fatah group also mourned Sinwar, stressing that "the policies of killing and terrorism adopted by the (Israeli) occupation government won't break the will of our Palestinian people in seeking their legitimate national rights."

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine group said "the martyrdom of Sinwar is a further incentive that pushes the Palestinian people" to continue the path of struggle against the Israeli occupation.

The National Initiative party said Sinwar was "martyred above ground defending the rights of his people," and his killing would increase "the struggle and resistance for freedom and liberation from the brutal occupation."

Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the head of the Islamic Jihad group, said "the martyrdom of Sinwar is a milestone in the Palestinian struggle history."

The leftist Palestinian People's Party also mourned Sinwar as a "great fighter," stressing that the Israeli policy of killing and assassination would not undermine the Palestinian people's will to continue the path for liberation and independence.

In a televised statement, Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya praised Sinwar as a “hero who fought the Israeli forces until his last breath.”

The Israeli army said Thursday that it killed Sinwar in a military operation in Gaza.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

At least 42,500 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 99,500 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of Gaza amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar