Hamas deputy leader, Khalil al-Hayya on Friday confirmed the death of the organization’s leader, Yahya Sinwar.

Following Sinwar’s death, al-Hayya vowed never to free Israeli captives until the war in Gaza ends.

Speaking from exile in Qatar, al-Hayya said Sinwar’s death would not change the position of Hamas.

In his first statement since Sinwar’s death, al-Hayya said: “We are continuing Hamas’s path,” adding that the “banner will not fall.”

Recall that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has disclosed the death of Sinwar, saying it will not end the ongoing war in Gaza.

“Yahya Sinwar is dead, he was killed in Rafah by the brave soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.

“While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it’s the beginning of the end,” Netanyahu said.

Sinwar’s death comes as another episode in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said Sinwar, one of the masterminds of the October 7, 2023 attack that left over 1,000 dead in Israel, was killed in a firefight between Israeli soldiers and Hamas forces.

President Joe Biden urged NATO allies to keep backing Ukraine in its war against Russia as he made his farewell visit to Germany Friday just weeks before US elections.

As Ukraine faces a third winter at war and battlefield losses in the east, Kyiv and its allies fear a potential return of Donald Trump to the White House would mean reduced US military support.

Biden said Western allies must “sustain our support… until Ukraine wins a just and sustainable peace.

“We’re headed into a very difficult winter. We cannot let up.”

In another worrying development for Ukraine, North Korea has decided to send a “large-scale” troop deployment to support Moscow’s war, according to Seoul’s spy agency. It said 1,500 special forces were already in eastern Russia undergoing training.

During his one-day visit, Biden met Chancellor Olaf Scholz before they held four-way talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky had presented his “victory plan” to the European Union and NATO, but his allies have not agreed to his request for immediate NATO membership.

Washington and London have also rejected Ukrainian requests for clearance to use donated long-range weapons against targets inside Russia. Berlin has refused to send its own long-range Taurus missile system.

“We are supporting Ukraine as powerfully as we can,” said Scholz. “And at the same time we are making sure that NATO does not become a party to the war, so that this war does not turn into an even bigger catastrophe.”

– Calls for Gaza truce –

The United States has been by far the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in 2022. Germany is the next biggest supplier.

Paris and London were among foreign capitals to voice concern Friday over the report of North Korean troops readying to back the Russian war effort.

“The increase in cross-cooperation and military support from North Korea to the Russian war effort in Ukraine is very worrying,” said Christophe Lemoine, spokesman for the French foreign ministry.

Speaking at the British embassy in Berlin, Starmer said that “if this is true then to me it looks more an act of desperation than anything else”.

The other issue in focus was the Middle East conflict, where Biden and others voiced hope for new momentum toward a Gaza ceasefire after Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Biden said the death of Sinwar, considered the architect of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, was a “moment of justice”.

The US president said he had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace, a better future in Gaza without Hamas”.

Scholz said that after Sinwar’s death, “hopefully the concrete prospect will now open up for a ceasefire and an agreement to release the hostages in Gaza”, comments that were echoed by Starmer.

– US election looms –

Biden earlier received a red-carpet welcome from President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who awarded him Germany’s highest honour for championing bilateral and transatlantic ties.

The German head of state honoured 81-year-old Biden as “a beacon of democracy” who had shown unwavering support for NATO and Ukraine “in our most dangerous moment since the Cold War”.

Biden’s visit comes as the campaign race heats up ahead of the November 5 election and allies are nervously eyeing a possible Trump victory over Kamala Harris.

Trump, who berated NATO allies when president, has opposed the level of US military support for Ukraine and would be expected to soften US criticism of Israel in its wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Steinmeier said that just a few years ago in the United States-Germany relationship “the distance had grown so wide that we almost lost each other.

“When you were elected president, you restored Europe’s hope in the transatlantic alliance literally overnight,” Steinmeier said, before awarding Biden the Grand Cross special class of the Order of Merit.

Biden was originally due in Germany last week for a four-day state visit that would have included a major Ukraine defence meeting with Zelensky.

He cancelled that trip to coordinate the response to Hurricane Milton, but was nonetheless at pains to make his valedictory Germany trip, albeit with a stripped-down programme squeezed into a one-day visit.

AFP.

The Ivorian government has announced the closure of all student unions following the recent killings of two students, which authorities attribute to the influential Student and School Federation (Fesci).

Investigations into the murders of Khalifa Diomandé and Zigui Mars Aubin Déagoué, occurring in August and September, have led to the arrest of several Fesci members, BBC reports.

Authorities revealed the discovery of an underground tunnel used for torture and a brothel during investigations at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny University in Abidjan.

Students claim that Fesci operated these illicit sites, with many too frightened to report the activities.

“You wouldn’t have believed you were in a university in an organised country,” said a former student, who chose to remain anonymous.

“I was threatened by Fesci many times; they tried to rape me,” she recounted.

“My boyfriend tried to stand up for me, and he was beaten up. On other occasions, I had to pay Fesci members to leave me alone.”

She expressed relief for the victims, stating, “I don’t know how it lasted so long but now I feel relieved for the victims,” adding she has not returned to campus since dropping out eight years ago due to trauma.

Students report that extortion was rampant, with Jose Aristide explaining, “I was supposed to pay $100 (£77) per month for my room, but they were forcing me to pay $250 per month. There was no other option. Everyone feared them.”

On Thursday, the Security Council of Ivory Coast announced a series of raids in Abidjan and Bouaké, resulting in the seizure of over 100 machetes and grenades.

Additionally, authorities expelled 5,000 undeclared residents from university campuses in Abidjan, Bouaké, and Daloa.

When the ban on student unions was announced, celebrations erupted. One lecturer welcomed the ban, expressing hope for a return to peace on campus.

Established in the 1990s, Fesci began as a student body but evolved into an anti-government protest group, with long-standing suspicions of involvement in organised crime.

Notably, former Fesci leaders include Guillaume Soro, a rebel leader turned prime minister, and Charles Blé Goudé, a former youth minister accused but acquitted of massive human rights violations during post-election violence a decade ago.