By Chris Summers
Contributinig Writer
Israel’s military confirmed on Thursday that Israeli troops in Gaza have killed Hamas’ top leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war.
“The (Israel Defense Forces) and (Israel Securities Authority) confirm that after a year-long pursuit, yesterday (Wednesday), October 16, 2024, IDF soldiers from the Southern Command eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organization, in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip. Yahya Sinwar planned and executed the Oct. 7 Massacre, promoted his murderous ideology both before and during the war, and was responsible for the murder and abduction of many Israelis,” the IDF said in a statement.
“Yahya Sinwar was eliminated after hiding for the past year behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and below ground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip. The dozens of operations carried out by the IDF and the ISA over the last year, and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated, restricted Yahya Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination.”
Sinwar has topped Israel’s most wanted list since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war just over a year ago, and his killing strikes a powerful blow to the terrorist group. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas of his death.
Sinwar, 62, was seen by Israel as the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion, during which Hamas-led terrorists launched a massacre in Israeli territory, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.
He took over Hamas after the previous leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in July in a targeted explosion at a guest house in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
The IDF said on Thursday in a post on X: “During IDF operations in Gaza, three terrorists were eliminated. The IDF and ISA are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed.
“In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution.”
A graphic image purportedly showing Sinwar’s dead body circulated on social media on Thursday amid reports he died in an Israeli “military operation” in Gaza.
The IDF is conducting DNA tests on the body believed to be that of Sinwar.
Sinwar is believed to have been living in the network of tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, along with Hamas fighters who continue to resist the Israeli forces.
Hamas spent more than a decade building an extensive labyrinth of tunnels.
Sinwar had been the terrorist group’s top official in Gaza since 2017, but Haniyeh had remained his superior until July 2024.
Born in a refugee camp in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Sinwar joined Hamas in the late 1980s, rising to prominence as the founder of the group’s intelligence arm, known as the Majd.
In 1989, Sinwar was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for abducting and murdering two Israeli soldiers.
He remained in an Israeli prison until 2021, when Israel freed more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by Hamas and held in Gaza for five years.
Since his release from prison, Sinwar has participated in numerous attacks against Israel, including the so-called 11-Day War in May 2021, during which Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group fired rockets at Israel and drew retaliatory Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
In 2015, the U.S. Department of State designated Sinwar a global terrorist. The designation means that it is illegal for U.S. citizens to provide him with any financial or material help and that any assets he may have in the United States must be frozen.
In February, the Israeli military released a video purportedly showing Sinwar traveling through a tunnel beneath Khan Younis on Oct. 10 alongside several family members.
“The hunt for Sinwar will not stop until we catch him, dead or alive,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a press conference upon releasing the footage, noting that the video was taken from a surveillance camera inside the tunnel, where soldiers have been pursuing Sinwar since they surrounded his home in December.
Hamas Deputy Leader Khalil al-Hayya may now become leader. He was interviewed by BBC reporter Jeremy Bowen in Qatar on Oct. 1 and his current location is unknown.
The International Criminal Court had posted arrest warrants in May for Sinwar, Haniyeh and Hamas Military Wing Chief Mohamed Deif for their roles in the Oct. 7 attacks.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the investigation into Sinwar’s possible death, says the White House.
Also on Thursday, Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry said 15 people, including five children, were killed when an Israeli air strike hit a school sheltering homeless Palestinians.
Fares Abu Hamza, head of the health ministry’s local emergency unit, said dozens of casualties had been taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital.
“Many women and children are in critical condition,” he added.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.