Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz Thursday confirmed that Israeli soldiers killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Katz’s announcement came as a personal message to dozens of his counterparts around the world.
He described Sinwar as the “mastermind behind the massacre and atrocities” of October 7.
He said: “This is a significant 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.
“The elimination of Sinwar opens the possibility for the immediate release of the hostages and paves the way for a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza—without Hamas and without Iranian control”.
Israeli army radio reported the killing occurred during a targeted ground operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah.
Sinwar, 61, was named the overall chief of Hamas in August after the killing of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. He previously served as the group’s political leader inside the Gaza Strip since 2017.
Born in Khan Younis refugee camp in 1962, Sinwar founded Hamas’ security service, Majd, in the late 1980s. He spent much of his life in Israeli prisons and was released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange.
Israeli security agencies believe Sinwar masterminded the October 7 attacks on southern Israel, which killed over 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
In response, Israel has killed at least 42,438 Palestinians, with 99,246 wounded. It has also killed around 3,000 in Lebanon and Syria, while around 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the war.
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