Iran, "Sinwar is martyr, resistance will grow...Hezbollah Declares "Certainty"

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, Iran's U.N. delegation claimed on social media that Sinwar, who was killed in an Israeli attack, was a martyr.

Lebanon's armed faction Hezbollah also warned in a statement that it "announces a transition from confrontation with Israeli enemies to a new escalatory phase."

Hezbollah claimed it used precision-guided missiles to target Israeli forces for the first time.

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.