On October 17, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security agency released a joint statement confirming that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was killed during an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.
According to the statement, the operation took place on October 16 in southern Gaza, where Sinwar was killed. It was noted that Sinwar played a key role in planning and executing the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas militants against Israel, which resulted in the deaths and abduction of several Israeli citizens.
The Israeli officials indicated that Sinwar had been hiding over the past year in surface facilities and underground tunnels in Gaza. In the weeks leading up to the operation, Israeli forces, acting on intelligence, targeted locations in southern Gaza believed to harbor senior Hamas members. Three Hamas militants were killed in this area, and after confirming identities, one was identified as Sinwar.
As of now, there has been no official response from Hamas regarding this development.
Reuters reports that Israel has long regarded Sinwar as one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks. Sinwar assumed leadership of Hamas’s political bureau on August 6, 2024, following the death of Ismail Haniyeh in an attack in Tehran.
