Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar will not halt the "Axis of Resistance" and that Hamas would live on, Reuters reported.

"His loss is undoubtedly painful for the Axis of Resistance, but this front did not cease advancing with the martyrdom of prominent figures," Khamenei said in a statement. "Hamas is alive and will remain alive."

Sinwar, the architect of Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, was killed on Wednesday in a gunfight with Israeli forces after a year-long manhunt, and his death was announced on Thursday, read the report.

"He was a shining face of resistance and struggle. With a steely resolve, he stood against the oppressive and aggressive enemy. With wisdom and courage, he dealt them the irreparable blow of October 7 that has been recorded in the history of this region. Then, with honor and pride, he ascended to the heavens of the martyrs," said Khamenei.

The "Axis of Resistance", built up with years of Iranian support, includes Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and various Shi'ite groups in Iraq and Syria. The groups describe themselves as the resistance to Israel and U.S. influence in the Middle East, Reuters reported.

"As always, we will remain by the side of the sincere fighters and combatants, by God's grace and help," Khamenei said.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday there was an opportunity to deal with Israel and Iran in a way that potentially ends their conflict in the Middle East for a while.

Speaking to reporters at the end of a visit to Berlin, Biden also said he has an understanding of how and when Israel was going to retaliate against missile attacks by Iran. He declined to elaborate, Reuters reported.

Tensions have been high in the region with Israel planning a response to the Oct. 1 missile attack carried out by Tehran."There's an opportunity in my view and my colleagues agree that we can probably deal with Israel and Iran in a way that ends the conflict for a while. That ends the conflict, in other words, that stops the back and forth," Biden said.

Biden added that he believed there was a possibility of working towards a ceasefire in Lebanon but that such efforts would be harder in Gaza.

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.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister said on Friday he rejected Iranian interference in a Lebanese matter, after the speaker of Iran's parliament said Tehran was ready to negotiate with France on implementing a U.N. resolution concerning southern Lebanon.

U.N. Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, calls for the border area of southern Lebanon to be free of weapons or troops other than those of the Lebanese state, with the aim of keeping peace on the border with Israel.

The speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, made his comments in an interview published on Thursday, Reuters reported.

"We are surprised by this position, which constitutes a blatant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish a rejected guardianship over Lebanon," a government statement quoted Prime Minister Najib Mikati as saying.

Mikati added that negotiating to implement U.N. resolution 1701 was a matter for the Lebanese state.

Under Resolution 1701, the United Nations Security Council authorised a U.N. peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL "to assist" Lebanese forces in ensuring southern Lebanon is "free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon".

Israel says the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have failed to secure the area. It started a ground operation in Lebanon on Oct. 1 after almost a year of ongoing hostilities with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in parallel with the war in Gaza.

The U.N. Security Council has expressed strong concerns after several U.N. peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon came under fire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that it is time to withdraw UNIFIL.

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told Reuters on Monday he wanted to see "a more robust mandate for UNIFIL to deter Hezbollah".

The peacekeeping mission is currently authorised until Aug. 31, 2025.