Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Israel said on Thursday.
Sinwar was the mastermind of the October 7th, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped according to Israeli tallies. Israel responded by launching a large offensive, killing 42,400 people and displacing 1.9 million, according to Palestinian health authorities and United Nations figures. Sinwar survived for more than a year while Israeli forces killed most of Hamas’s Gaza leaders. .
Israel invested huge resources to track Sinwar down. It was believed he was hiding in Gaza tunnels and rarely ventured above ground. In the end he was killed by regular infantry soldiers, not an elite commando unit.
[ Who was Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar? The influential member killed in GazaOpens in new window ]
The Israeli military said that after troops operating in Rafah came under militant fire on Wednesday, exchanges continued for a number of hours. The military said a sweep of the area on Thursday morning uncovered three bodies and troops were shocked to discover that one of them bore a striking resemblance to Sinwar. DNA checks later confirmed his identity.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas, but sources in the militant group said that indications from Gaza suggested Sinwar had been killed in an Israeli operation.
There were no hostages in the vicinity of the killing, even though it was assumed by Israel that Sinwar would use them as human shields.
Sinwar’s death is Israel’s most significant achievement in more than a year of fighting and will be regarded in Israel as the effective defeat of Hamas, even though thousands of armed militants remain in the coastal enclave. It comes just a few weeks after the assassination of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in Beirut’s Dahiya neighbourhood in Lebanon.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the event marked a turning point. “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny.”
Addressing the families of hostages, he said Sinwar’s death marked “an important moment” in the war. “We will continue with all our strength until the return of all of your loved ones,” he said, promising that anyone holding hostages will be allowed to live if they lay down their weapons and release their captives.
He stressed that Sinwar’s killing made it clear to critics in Israel and abroad why his government insisted on continuing the war. “Why we insisted, in the face of all the pressures, to enter Rafah, the fortified stronghold of Hamas where Sinwar and many of the murderers hid.”
US president Joe Biden said Sinwar’s death marked a moment of relief for Israelis while providing the opportunity for a “day after” in Gaza without the militant group in power. He said he would speak soon with Mr Netanyahu to discuss bringing home Israeli hostages in Gaza and “ending this war once and for all.”
It remains to be seen who will replace Sinwar as Hamas leader. His brother and right hand-man Mohammed Sinwar, who is reportedly just as hardline, is one possibility, although it is likely that a Hamas leader outside Gaza will be chosen.
Spontaneous demonstrations took place across Israel on Thursday night, calling for a deal to free the hostages.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum issued a statement welcoming the significant accomplishment, while at the same time expressing serious concern about the fate of the hostages.
“We call on the Israeli government, world leaders, and mediating countries to leverage the military achievement into a diplomatic one by pursuing an immediate agreement for the release of all 101 hostages: the living for rehabilitation and the murdered for proper burial,” the forum said in a statement.
