Hamas chief Sinwar, who plotted Israel attack, killed
Israeli forces killed Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, the main architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was the man Israel had been hunting for more than a year.
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 militant group. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas of his death.
The military confirmed Sinwar's death after conducting DNA tests on a body it said was among three militants killed on Wednesday during operations in Gaza. Israel’s foreign minister Katz called Sinwar's killing a “military and moral achievement for the Israeli army,” saying it would “create the possibility to release the hostages”.
Defence minister Yoav Gallant addressed Hamas fighters, saying it “is time to go out, release the hostages, raise your hands, surrender.”
Sinwar was one of the chief architects of Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel had vowed to kill him since the beginning of its retaliatory campaign in Gaza. He has been Hamas' top leader inside the Gaza Strip for years, closely connected to its military wing while dramatically building up its capabilities.
An Israeli security official said it appeared that the man who turned out to be Sinwar was killed in a battle, not in a planned targeted airstrike.
Photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling Sinwar with a gaping head wound, dressed in a military-style vest, half buried in the rubble of a destroyed building. The security official confirmed the photos were taken by Israeli security officials at the scene. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.
The Israeli news site N12 said Sinwar appears to have been killed by chance in a battle on Wednesday. It said that troops tracked a group of militants into a building, then attacked the militants with tank fire, causing the building to collapse. As troops unearthed the dead militants, they noticed that one appeared to resemble Sinwar.
Sinwar was imprisoned by Israel from the late 1980s until 2011, and during that time he underwent treatment for brain cancer – leaving Israeli authorities with extensive medical records.
19 palestinians killed
At least 19 Palestinians including children were killed on Thursday after an Israeli strike hit a school in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip that is sheltering displaced people, a Gaza health ministry official told international media. Dozens were injured in the strike.
