By James Mackenzie and Maayan Lubell
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel confirmed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 attack on Israel last year, was killed in Gaza, with Foreign Minister Israel Katz calling it a ” victory for the entire free world.”
There has been no official comment from Hamas, but sources in the group said indications suggested that Sinwar had been killed during an Israeli operation in the Tal El Sultan area of southern Gaza.
The Israeli military confirmed in a post on X that Sinwar was dead.
“Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was murdered today by IDF soldiers,” Katz said in a written statement from his office.
“This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the axis of evil of radical Islam led by Iran.”
His death represents a major boost for the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a series of high-profile assassinations of prominent leaders of his enemies in recent months.
Earlier, Israeli police examined dental and DNA evidence to determine whether Sinwar, Israel’s top target, had been killed.
The military earlier said it was checking the possibility that Sinwar was among three militants killed during an operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Majd, a Hamas-linked website that normally publishes on security issues, urged Palestinians to expect information about Sinwar from the group itself and not from the Israeli media, which it said aimed to break its spirit. .
Israeli media reported that the operation was a routine raid that caught Sinwar by chance. The army said there were no signs that Israeli hostages were in the building.