Israel Confirms Death of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza
It is understood that top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed amid a firefight against Israeli forces in Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz made the confirmation on Thursday (Oct. 17), calling it a “major military and moral achievement” for his country.
The arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7th, was eliminated today by IDF soldiers.
This is a major military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the axis of radical Islam led by Iran.… pic.twitter.com/etglGLpeax
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) October 17, 2024
“Sinwar’s elimination opens the door for the immediate release of the hostages and paves the way for the end of Hamas’ rule and a new reality in Gaza,” he added.
As for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), its tweet was a simple one-liner — “Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.”
Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2024
IDF: Sinwar’s Death Was by Chance
The IDF also released the raw drone footage of a wounded man sitting on a couch and apparently throwing an object toward the drone. It was later revealed that the man was Sinwar after IDF personnel ran DNA tests confirming his identity.
The IDF insisted that Sinwar’s death was a coincidence as the soldiers on the ground were originally searching for more junior Hamas leaders in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country has “settled its account” with Sinwar but would continue the war against Hamas, while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Sinwar’s death was “a clear message” to the people of Gaza, calling the Hamas leader as someone who “brought disaster and death” to the strip.
It is understood that Sinwar was the architect of the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel in 2023 that killed over 1,000 people and abducted hundreds more as hostages, some of which have been released or rescued.
As news of Sinwar’s death reached Israelis, several areas made celebratory cheers, while the families of the remaining hostages still in Hamas captivity spontaneously took to the streets to call Netanyahu’s government to end the war in the hopes of bringing the hostages back home to them.
Meanwhile, some displaced Palestinians in Gaza honored Sinwar as they claimed that he died a martyr’s death.
Sinwar was the latest in a list of leaders of Iran-backed proxies who were assassinated after his predecessor, long-time Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Global Reactions
Several world leaders made their sentiments known upon receiving the news of Sinwar’s death.
Newly-appointed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that he “will not miss” Sinwar as he believed that it was he who made the Oct. 7 attacks possible.
“I have condemned them, all allies have condemned them. Every reasonable soul in the world has condemned them,” he said in a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “So if he has died, I personally will not miss him.”
The International Criminal Court told the Associated Press that it was “aware of the reports” of Sinwar’s death and that it would take “relevant action,” including the withdrawal of his arrest warrant for the Oct. 7 attacks, once his death was confirmed.
US President Joe Biden told reporters that Sinwar’s death was “a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” even comparing it to the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, when Biden was Vice President under Barack Obama.
Biden also congratulated Netanyahu on a phone call aboard Air Force One en route to Berlin. Upon landing, he told reporters that Israel should “move towards a ceasefire in Gaza,” as US officials consider Sinwar the main stumbling block against ceasefire negotiations.
Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris said that “the United States, Israel, and the entire world are better off as a result” of Sinwar’s death.
As for Hezbollah, whose tensions against Israel escalated since mid-September, it announced that it would further escalate the conflict in response to Sinwar’s death, Reuters reported.