The Middle East crisis The Gaza war

Israel confirms: Hamas's top leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed in Gaza

Hamas's top leader Yahya Sinwar is dead, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirms according to Reuters.

Sinwar was killed in a routine operation in Gaza on Wednesday, according to the Israeli military. The IDF struck a building where Hamas terrorists were believed to be, but did not know Sinwar was there.

He had not been seen for a year after the terrorist attack on October 7 last year, which according to Israel he was the main architect behind.

Pictures circulated online show Sinwar's body lying in rubble, badly injured. Two other Hamastoppers died in the attack, but no Israeli hostages were in the building.

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Netanyahu: The war is not over - will continue in full force until the hostages are free

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a statement following the announcement of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, several media reports.

He paints it as a victory over evil, but continues:

- The war is not over, we will continue with full force until the hostages are back.

He also addresses the people of Gaza, saying that Sinwar has ruined their lives, and calls on them to "break free from the tyranny of Hamas".

- Hamas will never rule Gaza.

Now there is a chance for the region to stop the "axis of evil" and achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, adds the prime minister.

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Details: The IDF knew Sinwar's whereabouts for months

Israel's military knew for months that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was hiding in the Tel Sultan area of ​​Rafah - but not exactly where, according to Israeli media reports.

The IDF believed he was underground, and that for a time he surrounded himself with the six hostages who were found murdered in August.

The military therefore launched an operation with the express purpose of neutralizing a Hamas battalion in Tel Sultan, but the covert purpose was to kill Sinwar.

At one point, 26 Hamas fighters were killed in the area, but Sinwar was not among them. When the IDF shelled the building where Sinwar was killed yesterday, they had no idea he was there until afterwards, according to reports.