Unlike Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in his hotel room, or the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group Hassan Nasrallah, bombed in an underground bunker, Yahya Sinwar was killed while apparently fighting Israeli forces.

It comes hours after dozens of supporters of Iraqi militias stormed and looted the office of the broadcaster MBC in Baghdad in protest over a report that described a number of Iranian-linked militant figures as “terrorists.”

While most residents have evacuated, people in some Christian towns — and their priests — are refusing to leave their homes again. Some say they can’t afford to relocate. Some believe their presence deters attacks on their lands. Some fear they won’t be able to return.

Israel’s government said a drone targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house Saturday, with no casualties, as fighting with Hezbollah and Hamas showed no pause. In Gaza, Israeli forces fired at hospitals in the enclave’s battered north, and strikes killed more than 50 people, including children, in less than 24 hours.

Israeli forces have spent much of the past year destroying Hamas’ vast underground network in Gaza. They are now focused on dismantling tunnels and other hideouts belonging to Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. Scarred by Hamas’ deadly raid into Israel last year that sparked the war in Gaza, Israel says it aims to prevent a similar incursion across its northern border from ever getting off the ground.

Qatar-based Khalil al-Hayya gave a televised speech on Friday, suggesting he is assuming the leadership role, at least on an acting basis. He is a protégé of Ismail Haniyeh, Sinwar’s predecessor who was believed to have been assassinated by Israel in Tehran in July.

After the killing of Yahya Sinwar, conflicting stands by Hamas and Israel signal continued deep resistance on both sides to ending the war in Gaza, even as world leaders press the case that Sinwar’s death is a turning point that should be used to unlock stalled cease-fire negotiations.

The Biden administration recently warned that it could suspend military assistance to Israel if it does not ramp up the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza within a month. Israel allows in only a small number of international aid workers through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

“Hopefully, countries in the region will step up,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. For now, Austin said the U.S.’s top priority is getting the remaining hostages held by Hamas released.

The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar opens the door for the release of hostages and a cease-fire deal in Gaza, U.S. officials said Thursday. The Pentagon said U.S. forces were not directly involved in the operation that resulted in his death.