Hamas leader Sinwar is dead, Israel says
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Yahya Sinwar is the chief architect of the Oct 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
PHOTO: AFP
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JERUSALEM - Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct 7, 2023, attack that triggered the Gaza war, was killed on Oct 17, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.
His killing by Israeli forces operating in Gaza marks a huge success for Israel and a pivotal event in the year-long war - although there are a number of possible scenarios.
“Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers,” Katz said in a statement.
“This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the axis of evil of radical Islam led by Iran,” Katz said.
“Sinwar’s assassination creates the opportunity for the immediate release of the hostages and to bring about a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza - without Hamas and without Iranian control.”
Earlier, the Israeli army and police carried out DNA checks on the corpse of the man believed to be that of their arch foe.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
The Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives applauded the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, saying his death had brought “relief” to the people of Israel.
“Sinwar’s life was the embodiment of evil and marked by hatred for all that is good in the world,” Mike Johnson said in a statement.
“His death brings hope for all those who seek to live in freedom, and relief to Israelis he has sought to oppress.”
In Israel, families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza said they hoped that a ceasefire could now be reached that would bring home the captives. In Gaza, residents said they believed the war would go on.
The demise of Sinwar is a major boost to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the devastating war in the Palestinian enclave grinds on into a second year.
Sinwar, who was named as Hamas’ overall leader following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, was believed to have been hiding in the warren of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.
His death could dial up hostilities in the Middle East where the prospect of an even wider conflict has grown.
But the end of the man who planned the attack last year in which fighters killed 1,200 people in Israel and captured more than 250 hostages could also help push forward stalled efforts to end the war that attack triggered. During the year-long conflict Israel has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant posted a message on social media platform X with a biblical quotation.
“‘You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.’ - Leviticus 26 Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them.”
The post contained pictures of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in Beirut last month and former Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, who was killed in August, with a blank space for a third picture between them. All three were crossed out in red.
Succession questions
Sinwar, the chief architect of the on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, has been at the top of Israel’s wanted list ever since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023 killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages into Gaza.
Israel’s campaign in response has killed more than 42,000 people, turned much of Gaza into rubble and displaced most of its population. But Sinwar had so far eluded detection, possibly hiding in the warren of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.
Sinwar, 61, who spent half his adult life in Israeli prisons, was the most powerful Hamas leader following the assassination of Haniyeh, which has left the region on the brink of a wider regional conflict after Iran vowed harsh retaliation.
His death would be the heaviest blow Hamas has suffered in more than a year of war, with more serious consequences for its remaining forces in Gaza than the assassination of former political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who had less connection with the day-to-day running of the conflict.
Previously leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Sinwar was named as its overall leader assassination of former political chief Ismail Haniyeh
Israel also killed Hasan Nasrallah,
It remains unclear who may succeed Sinwar, an uncompromising enemy of Israel with a reputation as a ruthless enforcer within the organisation. None of his potential successors has the same standing.
The group’s mastermind and political and strategic leader, Sinwar had unrivalled influence within Hamas and his death could potentially open the way to renewed efforts to reach a ceasefire deal to end the fighting.
Israel estimates it has destroyed Hamas as an organised military force and killed more than 18,000 Hamas fighters. But it is still engaged in fierce battles with small groups of fighters operating in the rubble of Gaza. REUTERS, AFP
