The Israel Defense Forces has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a strike in Gaza, Israeli officials said on Thursday .
Sinwar led Hamas operations in Gaza since 2017, and he is believed to be the key architect of the October 7, 2023 attack in which Palestinian militants killed 1,200 people in Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz hailed the killing as both a military and moral victory for Israel, as well as a win for the broader international community in its fight against radical Islamist forces led by Iran.
“This marks a turning point,” said Katz. “Sinwar’s death opens the door to the potential release of hostages and could reshape Gaza’s future—without Hamas and without Iran’s influence.”
Earlier, Israel had been working to verify whether Sinwar had been killed. A joint statement from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Police noted that dental records had been sent to a forensics lab, with DNA testing ongoing to confirm the identification.
Sinwar had spent 22 years in Israeli custody, giving Israel access to comprehensive records for comparison.
Israeli authorities, including the IDF, police, and Shin Bet intelligence agency, remain actively involved in the confirmation process, with more information expected soon
Israel previously eliminated Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, then killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September, as it relentlessly attacked its Iran-backed enemies in the region.
“We will reach every terrorist — and eliminate him,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as authorities took the corpse of Sinwar for DNA testing even as a photo of spiders surrounding Sinwar‘s alleged body was shared online.
