Israel’s foreign minister has confirmed that Israeli troops in Gaza have killed Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of the Oct. 7 attack.
Sinwar has topped Israel’s most-wanted list since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war just over a year ago, and his killing strikes a powerful blow to the militant group. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas of his death.
Foreign Minister Katz called Sinwar’s killing Wednesday a “military and moral achievement for the Israeli army.”
“The assassination of Sinwar will create the possibility to immediately release the hostages and to bring a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza – without Hamas and without Iranian control,” he said in a statement Thursday.
Sinwar’s death is a significant moment in Israel’s yearlong offensive against the militant group and could complicate efforts to release dozens of hostages held in Gaza.
Sinwar became the head of Hamas after the killing of the previous leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Iran in July that was widely blamed on Israel.
He was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in the Gaza town of Khan Younis. He was an early member of Hamas, which was formed in 1987. He eventually led the group’s security arm, which worked to purge it of informants for Israel.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on Israel’s investigation into whether it killed Sinwar, and U.S. officials have been in close contact with Israeli officials throughout Thursday morning, according to a senior administration official.
The Israeli military said Thursday it was looking into whether Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a military operation in Gaza. Authorities were conducting DNA tests on a body to determine if it is him, an Israeli security official said.
The military said in a statement that three militants were killed during operations in Gaza, without specifying where or elaborating further. It said the identities of the three were so far not confirmed, but it was “checking the possibility” that one of them was Sinwar.
The security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the tests on the body had not yet confirmed if it was Sinwar’s.
