A senior Hamas official confirmed Friday the militant group’s leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by the Israeli military.
Khalil al-Hayya mourned the killing of Sinwar, the orchestrator of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and said no Israeli hostages will be returned “before the end of the aggression on Gaza” and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. He added that Sinwar’s killing, which happened Thursday, would only bolster the militant group.
“The death of our leader Sinwar and those [killed] before him will only increase the strength and resolve of our group,” al-Hayya said.
Hamas also issued a statement following the news, painting Sinwar as a martyr in the ongoing war.
“He rose as a heroic martyr, advancing and never retreating, wielding his weapon, engaging and confronting the occupation army at the frontlines. He moved between all combat positions, steadfast and stationed on the honored land of Gaza, defending the land of Palestine and its holy sites, inspiring the spirit of endurance, patience, steadfastness and resistance,” the statement said.
Sinwar was killed Thursday during an Israeli military operation in Gaza. He was one of the military’s top targets, surviving in underground tunnels amid the conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in reaction to Sinwar’s killing, said the war is “not over yet,” adding that Sinwar “committed the most terrible massacre in the history of our nation since the Holocaust.”
“The mass murderer who murdered thousands of Israelis and kidnapped hundreds of our citizens was eliminated today by our heroic soldiers,” Netanyahu said during an address to the nation. “And today, as we promised to do, we came to account with him. Today, evil has suffered a heavy blow, but the task before us is not yet complete.”
President Biden congratulated the Israeli leader, while pressing Israel to move forward with cease-fire negotiations.
Sinwar’s killing could alter the outlook of the war between Israel and Hamas. The initial attack left almost 1,200 Israelis dead and more than 250 people were taken hostage.
Subsequent attacks by Israel have resulted in the deaths of more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, a tally that does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. About 90 percent of Gaza’s population has also been displaced amid the fighting.