Hamas leader Sinwar killed by Israeli troops in Gaza, Netanyahu says war will go on

JERUSALEM: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct 7, 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war, has been killed by Israeli forces in the Palestinian enclave, Israel said on Thursday (Oct 17).
His killing marks a huge success for Israel and a pivotal event in the year-long conflict. There are a number of possible scenarios for what happens next but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war would go on.
The Israeli military said it had killed Sinwar in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
“After completing the process of identifying the body, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated,” it said.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Sinwar, who was named as Hamas’ overall leader following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, was believed to have been hiding in the warren of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.
His death could dial up hostilities in the Middle East where the prospect of an even wider conflict has grown. Israel has launched a ground campaign in Lebanon over the past month and is now planning a response to an Oct 1 missile attack carried out by Iran, ally of Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
But the demise of the man who planned the attack last year in which fighters killed 1,200 people in Israel and captured more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies, could also help push forward stalled efforts to end the war in which Israel has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
Israel’s Army Radio said the killing had occurred during a ground operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip during which Israeli troops killed three militants and took their bodies.
The killing also raises new questions about the fate of the hostages still in Hamas’ captivity. Sinwar was involved in negotiations that could have led to their release.
Families of Israeli hostages said that while the killing of Sinwar was a significant achievement, it would not be complete while hostages are still in Gaza.
“We express deep concern for the fate of the 101 men, women, elderly and children still held captive by Hamas in Gaza. We call on the Israeli government, world leaders, and mediating countries to leverage the military achievement into a diplomatic one by pursuing an immediate agreement for the release of all 101 hostages,” the Hostages Families Forum said.
Avi Marciano, the father of Noa Marciano, who was held captive by Hamas and killed in captivity, told Israeli broadcaster KAN: “A year after I hugged Noa for the last time, the monster, the one who took her from me, who had the blood of all our daughters on her hands, finally met the gates of hell. A little justice, but no comfort.