The IDF has released drone footage showing the final moments of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Video / IDF
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip is the “beginning of the end” of the year-long war in the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli military said that on Wednesday, after a lengthy hunt, troops had “eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organisation, in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip”.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) shared drone footage of what was reportedly Sinwar’s last moments, showing him sitting on a chair covered in dust inside a heavily damaged building.
Sinwar appears to fling a stick at the drone before the video finishes.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagar told the Jerusalem Post: “Sinwar fled alone into one of the buildings. Our forces used a drone to scan the area, which you can see here in the footage I’m presenting.
Netanyahu, who vowed at the start of the war to crush Hamas, hailed Sinwar’s killing, saying: “While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it’s the beginning of the end.”
He had earlier called Sinwar’s death an “important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas”.
Yahya Sinwar in 2022 during a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation in Gaza City. Photo / AFP
Sinwar was the chief of Hamas in Gaza at the time of the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war. He became the group’s overall leader after the killing in July of its political chief, Ismail Haniyeh.
He is said to have masterminded the October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures that includes hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s announcement of Sinwar’s death comes weeks after it assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike in Lebanon, where the Israeli military has been at war since late September.
With Hamas already weakened more than a year into the Gaza war, Sinwar’s death deals an immense blow to the organisation.
US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel’s top arms provider, said: “This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.
“There is now the opportunity for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
‘Settling the score’
Hamas militants seized 251 hostages during the October 7 attack and took them into Gaza. Ninety-seven remain there, including 34 who Israeli officials say are dead.
After the attack, Netanyahu vowed to defeat Hamas and bring home all the hostages.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 42,438 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures which the United Nations considers reliable.
Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said: “We are settling the score with Sinwar, who is responsible for that very difficult day a year ago.”
He vowed the military would keep fighting “until we capture all the terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre and bring all the hostages home”.
Israelis in the coastal city of Netanya celebrate news of the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Photo / AFP
Some Israelis hailed the news of Sinwar’s death as a sign of better things to come.
“I am celebrating the death of Sinwar, who has brought us nothing but harm, who has taken people hostage,” said Hemda, who gave only her first name.
At a Tel Aviv rally demanding the hostages’ release, 60-year-old Sisil, who also gave only her first name, said the killing presented a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for “a hostage deal to end the war”.
But whether the Hamas chief’s death will bring the end of the war any closer is unclear.
Warning that the hostages were in “grave danger”, Israeli military historian Guy Aviad said Sinwar’s killing was “a significant event ... but it’s not the end of the war”.
Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli Government and international mediators to use “this major achievement to secure hostages’ return”.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead.
This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Biden called him to congratulate him on Sinwar’s killing, with the two leaders vowing to seize “an opportunity to promote the release of the hostages”.
Netanyahu said Palestinian militants should free the hostages if they wanted to live.
‘Catastrophic’ levels of hunger
With the civilian toll in Gaza mounting, Israel has faced criticism for its conduct of the war, including from the United States.
In northern Gaza’s Jabalia, two hospitals said Israeli air strikes on a school sheltering displaced people killed at least 14 people, though the military reported that it had hit militants.
People gather outside a collapsed building as they attempt to extricate a man from underneath the rubble following Israeli bombardment in the Saftawi district in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on October 15. Photo / AFP
According to a UN-backed assessment, some 345,000 Gazans face “catastrophic” levels of hunger this winter.
Nearly 100% of Gaza’s population now lives in poverty, the UN’s International Labour Organisation said, warning that the war’s impact on Gaza “will be felt for generations to come”.
War in Lebanon
Israel is also fighting a war in Lebanon, where Hamas ally Hezbollah opened a front by launching cross-border strikes that forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes.
Hezbollah said yesterday it was launching a new phase in its war against Israel, saying it had used precision-guided missiles against troops for the first time.
On the same day, Israel conducted strikes on the south Lebanese city of Tyre, where the militant group and its allies hold sway.
The Lebanese National News Agency reported strikes on the Bekaa Valley after Israel issued an evacuation warning for civilians there.
The Israeli military said five soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon, taking to 19 the number of troop deaths announced since Israel began raids into Lebanon last month.
The war there has left at least 1418 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures, though the real toll is likely higher.
The war has also drawn in other Iran-aligned armed groups, including those in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.
Iran conducted a missile strike on Israel on October 1, for which Israel has vowed to retaliate.
Iran’s mission to the UN said yesterday that Sinwar’s killing would lead to the strengthening of “resistance” in the region.
