Israeli officials said Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israel Defense Forces in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Hamas has not commented publicly on the reports.
Why it matters: Sinwar was the mastermind of the Oct. 7 terror attacks, which killed 1,200 people and set off Israel’s year-long war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel has made killing him a key objective, and may now be more willing to scale back its military operations in Gaza.
- Most of the people killed on Oct. 7 were civilians, including 43 Americans. 250 people were taken hostage, among them 12 Americans.
- In the year since the terror attacks, Israel has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians in its assault on Gaza — most of them civilians, according to local health officials.
Driving the news: The IDF and the Shin Bet said in a statement on Thursday that the incident took place on Wednesday night local time in southern Gaza Strip.
- During a routine patrol by the IDF, the soldiers encountered three armed men. They exchanged fire and killed them.
- Israeli officials said the incident was coincidental and not based on intelligence.
- The IDF and Shin Bet stressed there were no hostages involved in the incident — a message Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the IDF to relay to hostage families, his spokesperson said.
The latest: The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed Sinwar’s body was identified.
- Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz also confirmed Sinwar was killed in a message he sent to several of his counterparts around the world, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
- Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant spoke on the phone with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shortly before the IDF statement was published and told him a DNA test identified the body was Sinwar, Israeli officials said.
What they’re saying: The IDF and Shin Bet said in a statement that IDF soldiers from the Southern Command killed Sinwar after operations in southern Gaza in recent weeks restricted his movement.
- Israeli forces were operating in the area following intelligence indicating senior Hamas members were located there, the statement said.
Gallant said in a statement that Sinwar’s death was a message to “all of our enemies — the IDF will reach anyone who attempts to harm the citizens of Israel or our security forces, and we will bring you to justice.”
- He called for the release of the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza and for those involved in the fighting to surrender.
- Sinwar was the Hamas leader in Gaza since 2017 and took over leadership of the Hamas political bureau in August.
@Axios