Israel says its forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.
The Israeli military said Thursday that Sinwar was killed Wednesday in southern Gaza.
“After completing the body identification process, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated,” the Israeli military said.
“The dozens of operations carried out by (the Israeli army) and the ISA (Shin Bet, the Israeli internal security service) over the last year and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated have limited the operational movements of Yahya Sinwar while he was being pursued by the forces and led to his elimination.
Hamas has not commented on the Israeli claims. Israel has waged a war on Gaza since October last year, killing more than 42,000 Palestinians, the vast majority civilians. This followed attacks by Hamas in southern Israel, in which 1,139 people were killed.
The Israeli army and police carried out DNA checks to confirm Sinwar’s identity after they said their forces in Gaza had killed three people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to accept the applause for Sinwar’s killing, but added that it did not mean the war on Gaza was over.
“Today we settled the score. Today, evil has received a heavy blow, but our task is still not finished,” Netanyahu said in a recorded video statement. “To the dear families of the hostages, I say: this is an important moment in the war. We will continue at full strength until all your loved ones, our loved ones, have returned home.
Nearly 250 people were captured in Israel during the attacks on October 7, 2023. About half have been released and around 70 are believed to remain detained in Gaza.
Assassinations
Sinwar, 62, was one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks on Israel and has been a prime target for Israel ever since.
Chosen as leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017, he was held in an Israeli prison for 22 years before being released in a prisoner exchange in 2011.
Disciplined and determined, he focused on the fight against Israel.
Hind Hassan, a journalist who was one of the last people to interview Sinwar in 2021, said she told him that Palestinians were supposed to be “perfect victims, and that’s something they can’t be.” .
His presumed death comes a few months after the July assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Tehran. Israel is believed to be behind this murder.
Sinwar was chosen as Hamas’ general leader after Haniyeh’s assassination.
Israel also claimed to have killed Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif in August, although this has not been confirmed by the Palestinian group.
Outside Gaza, an Israeli attack in Beirut on September 27 killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas locked in conflict with Israel since October 8, 2023, claiming that his attacks were carried out in solidarity. with the Palestinians in Gaza.
The war on Gaza has sparked a regional conflict, involving groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, and even Iran, which carried out an unprecedented direct missile attack on Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the killings of Nasrallah and Haniyeh.
An Israeli attack on Iran is expected and could potentially draw in the United States, which has sent a missile defense system and troops to Israel.
Families of captives waiting
In Israel, residents welcomed claims that Sinwar was dead, and family members of the captives said they hoped a deal guaranteeing the release of their loved ones could now be reached.
“This is a critical and urgent development regarding the hostages. Their lives are in greater danger than ever,” said Orna Neutra, whose son Omer is detained in Gaza. “We call on the Israeli government and the US administration to act quickly and do whatever is necessary to reach an agreement with the kidnappers.”
Israel has refused to accept a prisoner release deal that would also include a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners, despite attempts by several countries to reach an agreement and the stated receptiveness of Hamas.
Instead, Netanyahu called for total victory over Hamas and vowed not to end the war until that was achieved.
Many in Gaza do not believe Sinwar’s killing will end the war.
“The killing of Sinwar will not stop the war because it is a war against the Palestinian cause and Palestinian existence,” said Salah Musleh, living in central Gaza. “Israel assassinated Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, (vice president of the politburo) Saleh al-Arouri, and now Sinwar, but the war has not stopped to this day. We are proud of this end of Sinwar.
Additional reporting by Maram Humaid in Deir el-Balah, Gaza.