Israel said on Thursday that its troops had killed Yehya al-Sinwar, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed the death of the much-sought-after Hamas leader, after earlier reports of his demise.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed al-Sinwar's death in a video message to Gaza's residents on Thursday evening, calling it "the beginning of the day after Hamas" and an opportunity for them to free themselves from the militia's oppressive rule.
Katz, in a personal message to his counterparts around the world, called the killing "a significant military and moral victory for Israel and for the entire free world in its fight against the axis of radical Islam led by Iran."
He added: "Sinwar's elimination opens the door for the immediate release of the hostages and for a transformative change in Gaza – one without Hamas and without Iranian control."
And the Israeli military on its Telegram channel wrote: "For the past year Sinwar tried to escape justice. He failed. We said we would find him and bring him to justice, and we did."
Al-Sinwar is considered the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel in which Hamas and other militant organizations killed more than 1,200 people and abducted another 250 people into Gaza. According to Israel, Hamas is still holding 101 people, although it is unclear how many of them are still alive.
There was no initial reaction from either Hamas or Iran, which is seen as backing both Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Western leaders will not mourn al-Sinwar
In Washington, US President Joe Biden welcomed the killing of al-Sinwar.
"This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world," a release from the White House said on Thursday.
"As the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and citizens from over 30 countries," the statement said. He noted that Sinwar "was the mastermind of the October 7 massacres, rapes, and kidnappings.
"It was on his orders that Hamas terrorists invaded Israel to intentionally – and with unspeakable savagery – kill and massacre civilians, a Holocaust survivor, children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children," Biden asserted.
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris echoed Biden's comments in a statement, adding that al-Sinwar's death provides a chance to end the war - in a way that Israel is secure - release the hostages, and allow the Palestinian people to "realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pointed out that the extremist had committed the worst crimes.
For the "terrible, brutal, inhumane attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens, who were killed, raped, and degraded in the worst possible way," al-Sinwar was responsible, Scholz said after a meeting with EU leaders in Brussels. He declined to speculate as to whether it would now be easier - or more difficult - to get the Israeli hostages released.
In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte acknowledged al-Sinwar's death with a curt dismissal - a comment echoed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as reported by PA Media.
"I personally will not miss him," Rutte said at a press conference at NATO headquarters.
"Today my thoughts are with the families of those victims. The UK will not mourn his death," Starmer said.
Al-Sinwar's killing a result of an accidental encounter?
Various Israeli media reported that al-Sinwar was killed in what was an accidental encounter with Israeli soldiers.
Reports said forces were carrying out an operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. They reported that a confrontation occurred with al-Sinwar and two other armed Palestinians. It was only after his death that the soldiers noticed the resemblance to the Hamas leader.
The deceased men were found carrying large amounts of cash and fake passports. Al-Sinwar was reportedly wearing a vest with hand grenades.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that soldiers from the 828th Brigade had killed three terrorists in the south of the Gaza Strip. They said they had intensified operations in the southern part of the coastal strip in recent weeks because intelligence information had suggested that senior Hamas members might be hiding there.
Biden, in his statement, said Israel was aided by US intelligence services. He did not elaborate.
Identification made from dental records
Earlier Thursday, forensic experts with the Israeli police said that based on a comparison of dental photos, they assumed the Hamas leader was dead.
The forensic experts had compared photos of the teeth of the corpse of one of the men found dead following an Israeli army operation in Gaza with those of al-Sinwar from his time in Israeli custody. The Israeli media initially reported that they had found a match.
A DNA analysis followed, which was considered definitive proof of the identity of the deceased, the reports said.
It has not yet been possible to recover the body because the entire area was booby-trapped, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported.
"During IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, three terrorists were eliminated," the IDF explained in a statement earlier Thursday.
"In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution."
Al-Sinwar was at the top of Israel's hit list from the start of the Gaza war. Before him, Israel killed several top Hamas officials, including Mohammed Deif, the military commander of the Islamist organization.
Israel is also believed to have been behind the assassination in Tehran of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. Al-Sinwar, who had until then been the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, then took over the overall leadership of the organization.
The death of the Hamas leader raises the question of whether Hamas has been defeated. Observers do not consider this likely.
Mastermind of the October 7, 2023, attacks
Al-Sinwar was born in 1962 in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. His family comes from the area around the coastal city of Ashkelon, which is now part of Israel.
He was convicted by Israel in 1988 of murdering four suspected collaborators and two Israeli soldiers and spent more than two decades in prison in Israel.
At least 15 killed in strike on former school in Gaza
In other news from the Gaza conflict, at least 15 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a former school building in northern Gaza, a spokesman for the Kamal Adwan hospital said on Thursday.
The militants killed "were involved in rocket attacks against Israeli territory, as well as in planning and committing terrorist attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel in recent days," the IDF said, adding that it "conducted a precise strike on an operational meeting point for Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists."
The former school building had been used as a shelter for displaced people, with tents visible in an infographic provided by the army. Local media reported that civilians had been killed in the strike on the refugee neighbourhood of Jabalia.
More than 42,400 people are said to have been killed in Israel's campaign in Gaza following the October 7 attacks last year, according to the Hamas-run authorities, and close to 100,000 injured.
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