Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Thursday.
Sinwar has been credited as the mastermind behind the plan for the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which is killed over 1,200 people and is the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history.
“The master murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed” by Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Katz said in a statement. “This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the evil axis of extreme Islam led by Iran.”
The 62-year-old was the leader of the militant group since 2017 and assumed leadership of the group’s political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran this July.
Israel has been after Sinwar for a year and was hiding “behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and below ground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.” The IDF and Israel Security Agency said.
Vice President Kamala Harris described Thursday as a good day for the world after the death of Yinwar.
“Israel has a right to defend itself, and the threat Hamas poses to Israel must be eliminated. Today, there is clear progress toward that goal. Hamas is decimated, and its leadership is eliminated,” Harris told reporters in prepared remarks.
“This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, and it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. And it is time for the day after to begin without Hamas in power,” Harris added.
President Joe Biden released a lengthy statement and said he directed U.S. intelligence officials to help Israel locate and track Sinwar.
“To my Israeli friends, this is no doubt a day of relief and reminiscence, similar to the scenes witnessed throughout the United States after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011,” Biden said.
Israeli police said there is a “definitive identification” of Sinwar’s assassination based on a comparison of dental records and fingerprint matching.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sinwar’s death was “an important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas” in a video address.
