Yahya Sinwar: Israel says it killed Hamas leaders in Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces have killed a Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwara key architect of last year's attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Apparently troops had unwittingly stumbled upon him in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel's most wanted man.

Just over a year after Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others in an attack in Israel, Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as settling the score stunned the country. They also portrayed it as a turning point the campaign to destroy Hamasand called on the group to surrender and release about 100 hostages still in the Gaza Strip.

“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. “This is the beginning of the day after Hamas,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US officials commented hopes for a ceasefire with Sinwar out of the picture. But Eliminating it may not end the devastating warin which Israel destroyed much of the Gaza Strip and killed more than 42,000 Palestinians. Gaza's health ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of those killed were women and children.

Sinwar's death is a major blow to Hamas, but the Iranian-backed group has proven resilient to previous leadership losses. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas about Sinwar's death.

Netanyahu said Israel would continue fighting until all hostages were free and that it would maintain control of Gaza long enough to ensure that Hamas does not rearm – an effective occupation that raises the possibility of months or even years of occupation increased continued fighting.

Earlier this month, Israel opened a new front in its War with Hezbollahstepped up bombing in Lebanon and launched a ground campaign against the Iranian-backed militia after a year of cross-border firing.

In his speech on Sinwar's death, Netanyahu said: “Our war is not over yet.”

President Joe Biden said Sinwar's death opens the way for “a political solution that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” He said he would speak to Netanyahu “to discuss the way to bring the hostages home to their families and end this war once and for all.”

Sinwar has been the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip for years. He was appointed to the group's top leadership position in July after his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an apparent Israeli attack in the Iranian capital Tehran.

In recent months, Israel eliminated a number of high-ranking figures by Hamas and Hezbollah with air strikes. Israel has claimed to have killed the head of Hamas's military wing, Mohammed Deif, but the group said he survived.

But in Sinwar's case, the troops found him by accident.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces had identified three Hamas militants running from building to building in Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city. The troops attempted to shoot them before running into a building.

The Israeli military released drone video purporting to show Sinwar's final moments: In a room destroyed by grenade attacks, a man sat in a chair, his face covered with a cloth, possibly to hide his identity. The video showed the man with an injured hand throwing a stick at the drone.

The military then fired another grenade at the building, causing it to collapse and killing Sinwar, Hagari said. He said Sinwar was found with a bulletproof vest, grenades and 40,000 shekels ($10,707).

Parts of Sinwar's DNA had previously been found in tunnels near where troops found the bodies of six hostages in late August, Hagari said. The military believes weeks of searches in the area led Sinwar to come out of hiding, he said.

Photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling Sinwar with a gaping head wound, dressed in a military vest, half-buried in the rubble of a destroyed building. The security official confirmed that the photos were taken by Israeli security officials on site. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The military said three militants were killed in the operation. Police said one of them was confirmed to be Sinwar through dental records, fingerprints and DNA testing. Sinwar was in Israeli custody from the late 1980s until 2011, during which time he was treated for brain cancer – leaving Israeli authorities with extensive medical records.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed Hamas militants, saying it was “time to go out, release the hostages, raise your hands, surrender.”

Netanyahu said Israel had “settled its score” with the man behind the Oct. 7 attack and that “evil had suffered a serious blow.” But he added: “The task before us is not yet complete.”

He said anyone in Hamas who gave up weapons and helped repatriate the hostages would be allowed to leave Gaza safely. About a third of prisoners still held in Gaza are believed to be dead.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening for the release of the hostages after news of Sinwar's death broke. Some carried signs reading, “End Sinwar, end the war.”

Ifat Kalderon, whose cousin Ofer Kalderon is being held hostage in Gaza, said he was glad Sinwar was dead but was “scared about the 101 hostages.” … They could murder her or do something about the murder of Sinwar.”

In the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, a Palestinian woman driven from her northern home said she hoped Sinwar's death would end the Israeli campaign. “What other goals do you have? Enough. We want to go back,” said the woman, Umm Mohammed.

Some praised Sinwar as a symbol of resistance to Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinians in the West Bank. Ahmed Hamdouna, who also fled his home in northern Gaza, said Hamas could replace him. “After the leader will come a thousand leaders. After the man there will come a thousand men,” he said.

For more than a week. Israeli forces are carrying out a ground attack in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, saying they are battling Hamas militants who have regrouped there.

On Thursday, an Israeli attack hit a school housing displaced Palestinians in Jabaliya, killing at least 28 people, according to Gaza's health ministry. Fares Abu Hamza, head of the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency unit in the north, said a woman and four children were among the dead.

The Israeli military said it attacked a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command center at the school. She provided a list of around a dozen names of people she identified as militants who were present at the time of the attack call. It was not immediately possible to verify the names.

Israel has repeatedly attacked tent camps and schools housing displaced people in Gaza. The Israeli military says it carries out targeted attacks on militants and tries not to harm civilians, but its attacks often kill women and children.

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Sami Magdy reported from Cairo. AP writers Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

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