Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip was “the beginning of the end” of the year-long war in the Palestinian territory.
After a long manhunt, soldiers killed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organization, in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
Hamas has not confirmed his death.
Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas at the start of the war, praised Sinwar’s killing, saying: “Although this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it is the beginning of the end.”
He previously called Sinwar’s death “an important milestone in the fall of Hamas’s evil regime.”
The head of Hamas in Gaza at the time of the October 7 attack that sparked the war, Sinwar became the overall leader of the militant group after the assassination of its political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in July.
He is said to have masterminded the October 7 attack, the deadliest attack in Israeli history, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures, which includes those imprisoned. Including the hostages killed.
Israel announced Sinwar’s death just weeks after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an attack in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been at war since late September.
With Hamas already weakened more than a year into the Gaza war, Sinwar’s death is a major blow to the organization.
US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel’s top arms provider, said: “This is a good day for Israel, the United States and the world.”
“There is now an opportunity for a ‘day after’ with Hamas no longer in power in Gaza and a political solution that offers a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
– ‘to settle scores’ –
The militants also captured 251 hostages during the October 7 attack and took them to Gaza. Ninety-seven people remain there, including 34 who Israeli officials say are dead.
After the attack, Netanyahu vowed to defeat Hamas and bring all hostages home.
Israel’s counter-offensive in Gaza has killed 42,438 people, most of them civilians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.
Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said: “We are settling scores with Sinwar, who is responsible for that extremely difficult day a year ago.”
He vowed that the army would continue fighting “until we capture all the terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre and bring home all the hostages”.
Some Israelis interpreted the news of Sinwar’s death as a sign of better things to come.
“I am celebrating the death of Sinwar, who brought us nothing but harm, who took people hostage,” said Hemda, an Israeli woman who gave only her first name.
Taking part in a Tel Aviv rally demanding the release of the hostages, 60-year-old Sissil, who also gave only his first name, said his killing brought a “once in a lifetime call” for a hostage agreement to end the war. “The opportunity has been provided.
But whether the death of the Hamas chief will bring the end of the war closer is unclear.
Warning that the hostages were in “grave danger”, Israeli military historian Guy Aviad said that the killing of Sinwar was “a significant event… but it is not the end of the war”.
The campaign group Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government and international mediators to take advantage of “this major achievement for the safe return of the hostages”.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Biden called him to congratulate him on Sinwar’s killing, with the two leaders vowing to take advantage of “the opportunity to promote the release of the hostages.”
Netanyahu said that if Palestinian terrorists want to survive they must release the hostages.
– eleventh hour –
The Israeli military said Sinwar was killed in crossfire while being tracked by a drone in Rafah, southern Gaza, near the border with Egypt.
It released drone footage of Sinwar’s final moments, with the video showing an injured terrorist throwing an object at the drone.
With the increasing number of civilians in Gaza, Israel has faced criticism, including from the United States, over its conduct of the war.
In Jabaliya, northern Gaza, two hospitals said at least 14 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on a school sheltering displaced people, although the army said it had hit militants.
Some 345,000 Gazans face “catastrophic” levels of hunger this winter, according to a UN-backed assessment.
Nearly 100 percent of Gaza’s population now lives in poverty, the UN’s International Labor Organization said, warning that the impact of the war on Gaza “will be felt for generations to come”.
– War in Lebanon –
Israel is also waging a war in Lebanon, where Hamas ally Hezbollah has launched cross-border attacks, forcing thousands of Israelis to flee their homes.
Hezbollah said on Thursday it was starting a new phase in its war against Israel, using precision-guided missiles against troops for the first time.
The same day, Israel carried out strikes on the city of Tyre, in southern Lebanon, where the terrorist group and its affiliates have influence.
The Lebanese National News Agency reported the attack on the Bekaa Valley, after Israel issued an evacuation warning for civilians there.
The Israeli military said five soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, bringing the number of announced soldier deaths to 19 since Israel began raids in Lebanon last month.
At least 1,418 people have been killed in Lebanon’s war since late September, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, although the actual toll is likely higher.
War has also broken out in other Iran-aligned armed groups, including in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.
Iran launched a missile attack on Israel on October 1, to which Israel has vowed to retaliate.
Tehran’s mission to the United Nations said Thursday that Sinwar’s killing would strengthen “resistance” in the region.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
