Israel confirmed on Thursday the elimination of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief responsible for the October 7 attack, describing his death as a significant blow to the Palestinian group with which it has been in conflict for over a year. The Israeli military stated that Sinwar was killed in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, following a year-long pursuit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked, “Today evil has suffered a heavy blow,” noting that while the war is not yet over, Sinwar’s death marks an important step in diminishing Hamas’s influence. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz labeled Sinwar a “mass murderer” accountable for the atrocities committed during the October 7 attack, and President Isaac Herzog commended the killing of the leader known for orchestrating “heinous acts of terrorism.”
Sinwar, who had risen through the ranks of Hamas to become its leader in Gaza and subsequently its overall head, had been a primary target since the outbreak of the Gaza war. His death follows a series of high-profile assassinations of Iran-backed militant commanders and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, further indicating Hamas’s weakened position in the ongoing conflict.