United States: Israel announced on Thursday that Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ top leader and its longest-serving commander in the Gaza Strip, has been killed by troops in the occupied Palestinian territory wracked by an old war.
More about the news
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “His elimination is an important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas,” CBS News reported.
Moreover, “I would like to say again, in the clearest way: Hamas will no longer rule Gaza,” as Netanyahu mentioned, calling it “the beginning of the day after Hamas” and a chance for the people of Gaza “to free themselves from its tyranny.”
As Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called the killing of Sinwar, “who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7… a great military and moral achievement for Israel and victory for the free world in everything against the evil axis of extreme Islam led by Iran.”
Sinwar was killed in an operation – Military
As the Israeli military stated after the news of Sinwar’s killing went out, he was killed “in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip” on Wednesday. However, they refrained from providing more details.
In a subsequent statement by the Israeli military, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that a chain of events that led to Sinwar’s killing disclosed as “identified three terrorists fleeing from house to house on the run.”
Hagari added that the troops “attacked the terrorists, who split up after being shot,” and “Sinwar fled alone to one of the buildings.”
Detailed back story
The IDF used a drone to search the building and noticed Sinwar, who seemed to have been shot in the hand by the gunfire, Hagari said.

Hagari mentioned, “We identified him as a terrorist inside a building, shot into the building and entered the scan,” and “We found him with a vest and a gun and 40,000 shekels. He was on the run, ran away, and our forces eliminated him.”
Moreover, as seen in the drone footage, Sinwar “in his last moments throwing a wooden plank at the drone,” Hagari continued.
An Israeli official, CBS News, said that when Sinwar ran into the building, the IDF fired a tank shell at the building and then sent a drone inside, where it discovered him seated in an armchair, injured.
The official also claimed that Sinwar had tried to hit the drone with an object; when the IDF saw that he was not killed, they shot him again.
An Israeli security official told CBS News the soldiers noticed that the dead man killed resembled Sinwar.
It was still possible to get a blood sample from the remains, which would help confirm that it was him. President Biden was briefed via Air Force One prior to leaving for Germany.
Statement from US Prez Biden
As Mr. Biden stated on Thursday afternoon, “Early this morning, Israeli authorities informed my national security team that a mission they conducted in Gaza likely killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar,” CBS News reported.
“As DNA tests have now proved that Sinwar is dead. This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” he added.
When asked by a reporter in Berlin about the issue during a brief conversation shortly after arriving in that city, Mr. Biden said he had communicated with Netanyahu and said that Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, would visit Israel in the next four to five days, and showed some new optimism over a cease-fire.