NNA - Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar has topped Israel’s most wanted list since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war just over a year ago, and his killing strikes a powerful blow to the militant group. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas of his death.

Mr. Sinwar was a chief architect of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday (October 17, 2024) that the killing of Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip was the “beginning of the end” of the year-long war in the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military said that after a lengthy hunt, troops had on Wednesday (October 16, 2024) “eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organisation, in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip”.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Mr. Sinwar’s killing a “military and moral achievement for the Israeli Army”.

“The assassination of Sinwar will create the possibility to immediately release the hostages and to bring a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza — without Hamas and without Iranian control,” he said in a statement.--agencies 

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