The Israel Defense Forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a strike in Gaza, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Thursday.
“This is a great military and moral victory for Israel and the entire free world against the radical Islamist axis of evil led by Iran,” Katz said. “The elimination of Sinwar creates possibilities to immediately free the hostages and bring a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza without Hamas and without Iranian control.”
Sinwar led Hamas operations in Gaza since 2017, and he is believed to be the key architect of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in which Palestinian militants killed 1,200 people in Israel.
Israel previously eliminated Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, then killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September, as it relentlessly attacked its Iran-backed enemies in the region.
“We will reach every terrorist — and eliminate him,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as authorities took the corpse for DNA testing.
Sinwar was in a building in Rafah in the southern portion of the coastal enclave and was found coincidentally, an Israeli official said, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. The building was the setting of a routine IDF operation Thursday, according to that same official and another Israeli official familiar with the situation.
IDF soldiers engaged in a firefight with Hamas fighters near the building and Sinwar was found inside with several other Hamas commanders. It’s unclear whether Sinwar was living in the building or was passing through from another location inside Gaza.
Israeli officials said they are increasingly worried about the fate of the hostages still being held inside the enclave.
Former head of the Israeli security agency Shin Bet Ya’akov Peri told POLITICO that the big worry now is “where are the hostages?”
Families of the American hostages released a joint statement following the news of Sinwar’s death urging their release.
“No more delays and no more demands,” they said. “The elimination of this brutal terrorist is a step toward justice. But true victory for Israel, its allies, and for the world will only be achieved when every hostage is released and the suffering of civilians in Gaza ends.”
A total of 97 hostages that Hamas took on its Oct. 7, 2023 attacks remain unaccounted for. This includes seven U.S. citizens. Israeli officials have said that they believe 33 of those hostages — including three of the seven Americans — are dead.
Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials in Gaza, in its more than year-long retaliatory assault on the besieged strip of land. Western officials have repeatedly demanded a cease-fire amid a grave humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Hamas’ remaining Israeli captives have been held near to Sinwar’s hideaways, as a protection to deter Israel from targeting him.
The IDF said: “In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution.”
Israeli officials are worried that in the wake of Sinwar’s elimination, Hamas fighters to avenge his death by killing captives still held in the enclave.
Sinwar’s killing could significantly disrupt Hamas operations and advance Israel’s strategic goal of eliminating Hamas as a military threat.
“Time will tell but I think this is a catastrophic blow against the Hamas organization,” said Nathan Sales, the former top U.S. coordinator for counterterrorism.
“Any time you are able to eliminate the head of a terrorist organization, whether it’s Bin Laden or Baghdadi, that immensely disrupts the capability and planning of the group,” he said. “With Sinwar its effect will be particularly pronounced because of the way he ran the group, as he centralized all Hamas planning and decision making with himself.”
This story is being updated.
Israel kills Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza
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