Israel on Thursday, October 17, confirmed that it has eliminated new Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, just weeks after he took charge of the Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist outfit. Sinwar was widely regarded as the chief planner of the October 2023 attacks, which accounted for the lives of 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in over 250 being taken as hostages.
The death was confirmed by Chief of Staff of Israel Defense Forces, Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi, who said after a long and determined pursuit that lasted an entire year, Israeli forces managed to eliminate Sinwar. The IDF head also said that he met the team who killed Sinwar.
The IDF has earlier said that it has eliminated three terrorists — one of whom it said could be Sinwar — during an operation, north of the Gaza Strip. Hours later, it confirmed the Hamas chief’s death.
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Halevi said the world is now better off without Sinwar, who was appointed head of Hamas’ political bureau after the death of Ismail Haniyeh.
Haniyeh was eliminated by Israel in Tehran while he was attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian in July.
Following Sinwar’s death, the IDF chief has said that Israel will continue to kill all those who threaten its citizens.
“We will not stop until we catch all the terrorists who were involved in 7/10 and return all the abductees home,” he said.
