After the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar at the hands of Israeli forces, the Biden administration and other governments are pushing for a peace deal in the area. But neither side is interested in signing a deal right now. James Mackenzie, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Samia Nakhoul report for Reuters:

JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Pledges from Israel and its enemies Hamas and Hezbollah to keep fighting in Gaza and Lebanon dashed hopes on Friday that the death of Palestinian militant leader Yahya Sinwar might hasten an end to more than a year of escalating war in the Middle East.

Israel’s arch-foe and the militants’ main backer Iran also said Sinwar’s death would only fuel “the spirit of resistance”.

Hamas leader Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the Gaza war, was killed by Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian enclave on Wednesday.

Video showed him tossing a stick at a drone as he sat dying.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called his killing a milestone but vowed to keep up the war, which in recent weeks expanded from fighting Hamas in Gaza into an invasion and pursuit of Hezbollah of Lebanon.

“The war, my dear ones, is not yet over,” Netanyahu told Israelis late on Thursday, saying fighting would continue until hostages held by Hamas are released.

“We have before us a great opportunity to stop the axis of evil,” he added, referring to Iran and its militant allies across the region, also in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Hamas said hostages would only be released with a halt of hostilities in Gaza, an Israeli withdrawal and the release of its prisoners. “The martyrdom of our brother, the leader Yahya Sinwar … will only increase the strength and resolve of Hamas and our resistance,” it said, confirming his death in combat.

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