Israel has killed its top target in Gaza - Hamas leader Yehya al-Sinwar, the country's political and military leaders said on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed the death of Israel's most wanted man in the exclave as did military spokesman Daniel Hagari.
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."
There was no immediate comment from either Hamas or Iran, which supports both Hamas and the Lebanese Shiite miltia group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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.
It is unclear whether it will now be easier to get remaining Israeli hostages released from Gaza. Hostage families, while happy that al-Sinwar is dead, called for their release.
"We settled the score with mass murderer Sinwar but...there will be no real closure, there will be no total victory, if we don't save lives and bring them home," Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is still being held captive in Gaza, told the Jerusalem Post.
Videos posted online showed Israelis in Ashdod and on the beach cheering when learning that al-Sinwar had been killed.
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. He said al-Sinwar "was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and citizens from over 30 countries."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pointed out that the extremist was behind awful crimes - the "terrible, brutal, inhumane attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens, who were killed, raped, and degraded in the worst possible way."
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. No hostages were found.
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) released a video purportedly showing al-Sinwar's last moments.
The footage, recorded by a drone, shows a man sitting in a bombed-out building, cloaked in dust and debris. As the drone hovers closer, he throws a stick at the remote-controlled aircraft.
The IDF said it identified the man in the video as al-Sinwar.
The IDF 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.
The death of the Hamas leader raises the question of whether Hamas has been defeated. Observers do not consider this likely.
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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