Israel says Hamas leader Sinwar has been killed

By JOSEF FEDERMAN, MELANIE LIDMAN and WAFAA SHURAFA

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces in Gaza have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the army said Thursday. Troops appeared to have unknowingly encountered him in a battle, only to discover that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most wanted man.

Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as a settlement of scores, just over a year after Hamas-led fighters in Israel killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others in an attack that stunned the country. They also presented it as a turning point in the campaign to destroy Hamas, urging the group to surrender and release some 100 hostages still in Gaza.

Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

US officials expressed hope for a ceasefire that would leave Sinwar out of the picture. But eliminating him may not end the devastating war, in which Israel has destroyed much of the Gaza Strip and killed more than 42,000 Palestinians. Gaza’s health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters but says more than half of the dead were women and children.

Sinwar’s death is a crippling blow to Hamas, but the group, which receives support from Iran, has proven resilient to previous leadership losses. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas about Sinwar’s death.

Netanyahu has said that Israel will continue to fight until all hostages are freed, and that it will maintain control of Gaza long enough to ensure that Hamas does not rearm — an effective occupation that raises the possibility of months or even years of continued struggle increases.

Earlier this month, Israel opened a new front in its war with Hezbollah, stepping up bombardment in Lebanon and launching a ground campaign against the Iran-backed militia after a year of cross-border fire trading.

In his speech on Sinwar’s death, Netanyahu said: “Our war has not ended.”

President Joe Biden said Sinwar’s death opens the way for “a political settlement that offers a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians.” He said he would talk to Netanyahu “to discuss the path to bringing the hostages home to their families and ending this war once and for all.”

Sinwar has been the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip for years. He was elevated to the group’s top leadership position in July after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an apparent Israeli attack in the Iranian capital Tehran.

In recent months, Israel has eliminated a series of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures with airstrikes. Israel claims to have killed the head of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Deif, but the group claims he survived.

But in Sinwar’s case, troops found him by chance.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces have identified three Hamas fighters running from building to building in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah. The troops tried to shoot them before running into a building.

The Israeli military released a drone video showing what they say were Sinwar’s final moments: In a room destroyed by shelling, a man sits in a chair, his face covered with a cloth, possibly to hide his identity. The video shows the man throwing a stick at the drone with one injured hand.

The army then fired an additional shell at the building, causing it to collapse and killing Sinwar, Hagari said. He said Sinwar was found with a bulletproof vest, grenades and 40,000 shekels ($10,707).

Some of Sinwar’s DNA had previously been found in tunnels near where troops found the bodies of six hostages in late August, Hagari said. The military believes weeks of searches in the area prompted Sinwar to come out of hiding, he said.

Photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling Sinwar with a gaping head wound, wearing a military-style vest, half-buried in the rubble of a destroyed building. The security official confirmed that the photos were taken at the scene by Israeli security officials. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The army said three terrorists were killed in the operation. Police said one of them was confirmed as Sinwar through dental records, fingerprints and DNA tests. Sinwar was imprisoned by Israel from the late 1980s until 2011, during which time he underwent treatment for brain cancer, leaving Israeli authorities with extensive medical records.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed Hamas fighters, saying it is “time to come out, release the hostages, raise your hands and surrender.”