Israel has declared Yehya al-Sinwar, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, dead.
Al-Sinwar was killed by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Stip, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday evening, confirming earlier reports.
“This is a significant military and moral victory for Israel and for the entire free world in its fight against the axis of radical Islam led by Iran,” Katz said in a personal message to his counterparts around the world.
“Sinwar’s elimination opens the door for the immediate release of the hostages and for a transformative change in Gaza – one without Hamas and without Iranian control.”
Hamas and other militant organizations in the Gaza Strip killed more than 1,200 people in a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and abducted another 250 people into the Gaza Strip. According to Israel, Hamas is still holding 101 people, although it is unclear how many of them are still alive.
No initial reaction from Hamas
There was no initial reaction from Hamas.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog commended the army for “eliminating the arch-terrorist” who “has for years been responsible for heinous acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians, citizens of other countries, and the murder of thousands of innocent people.”
In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged al-Sinwar’s death with a curt dismissal.
“I personally will not miss him,” Rutte said at a press conference at NATO headquarters.
Al-Sinwar was at the top of Israel’s hit list from the start of the Gaza war. Before him, Israel killed several top Hamas officials, including Mohammed Deif, the military commander of the Islamist organization.
Israel is also believed to have been behind the assassination in Tehran of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Al-Sinwar, who had until then been the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, then took over the overall leadership of the organization.
The death of the Hamas leader raises the question of whether Hamas has been defeated. Observers do not consider this likely. Al-Sinwar’s brother Mohammed plays an important role in Hamas’ military structure. It is unclear whether he has taken over from Deif.
Experts examined dental photos
Earlier Thursday, forensic experts with the Israeli police said that based on a comparison of dental photos, they assumed the Hamas leader was dead.
The forensic experts had compared photos of the teeth of the corpse of one of the men found dead following an Israeli army operation in the Gaza Strip with those of al-Sinwar from his time in Israeli custody. The Israeli media initially reported that they had found a match.
A DNA analysis followed, which was considered definitive proof of the identity of the deceased, the reports said.
It has not yet been possible to recover the body because the entire area was booby-trapped, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported.
“During IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, three terrorists were eliminated,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) explained in a statement earlier Thursday.
“In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution.”
Mastermind of the October 7, 2023, attacks
Al-Sinwar had been head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip since 2017. Since then, he had repeatedly tried to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip, which was tightened by Israel in 2006 and has been supported by Egypt over the years.
He was born in 1962 in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. His family comes from the area around the coastal city of Ashkelon, which is now part of Israel.
Al-Sinwar was convicted by Israel in 1988 of murdering four suspected collaborators and two Israeli soldiers and spent more than two years in prison in Israel.
The 61-year-old Hamas chief was considered to be the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel which triggered the current Gaza war.
The attack is constituted the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
At least 15 killed in strike on former school in Gaza
In other news from the Gaza conflict, at least 15 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a former school building in northern Gaza, a spokesman for the Kamal Adwan hospital said on Thursday.
The Israeli army said the air force “conducted a precise strike on an operational meeting point for Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.”
Dozens of militants were allegedly present inside the building at the time of the attack, according to an army statement.
The militants killed “were involved in rocket attacks against Israeli territory, as well as in planning and committing terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel in recent days,” it said.
The former school building had been used as a shelter for displaced people, with tents visible in an infographic provided by the army.
Local media reported that civilians had been killed in the strike on the refugee neighbourhood of Jabalia.
More than 42,400 people are said to have been killed in Israel’s campaign in Gaza following the October 7 attacks last year, according to the Hamas-run authorities, and close to 100,000 injured.
