Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar — a mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war — was Thursday killed in an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. The confirmation by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz came hours after the military said it was “checking the possibility” that one of the three militants killed in an operation was Sinwar. Israeli police examined dental images and DNA evidence to determine if it was the Hamas leader. "Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers," Katz said in a statement. Following the operation, members of Israel's security cabinet were informed about Sinwar's assassination. Israel had also notified US military officials about the potential death of the Hamas leader and passed along photos of what could be his dead body. The death of Sinwar represents a major boost to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a string of high-profile assassinations of prominent leaders of its enemies in recent months. Sinwar became the leader of Hamas following the assassination of former leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in August. He has not been seen in public since the Hamas attacks, and is believed to be hiding in the extensive network of tunnels beneath Gaza. Last month, Israel had killed Hasan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement, as well as much of the top leadership of the group's military wing. Deif, commander of Hamas' military wing, was killed after fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Younis in Gaza on July 13 after an intelligence assessment. Deputy Hamas military commander Marwan Issa was killed in an Israeli strike in March, the Israeli military said. He had been at the top of Israel's most-wanted listed alongside Deif and Sinwar. An Israeli drone strike on Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahiyeh killed deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri on January 2. Arouri was also the founder of Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages into Gaza. Israel's campaign in response has killed more than 42,000 people, turned much of Gaza into rubble and displaced most of its population.
