Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza by Israeli forces, officials say - ABC News
By: ABC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Thursday.
Sinwar has been credited as the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that led to the deaths of 1,200 people, the worst terrorist attack in Israel's history.
"The master murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed" by Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Katz said in a statement. "This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the evil axis of extreme Islam led by Iran."
Hamas Gaza Chief Yahya Sinwar and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh take part in the funeral of senior militant Mazen Fuqaha in Gaza City Mar. 25, 2017.Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Sinwar, 62, had served as Hamas' leader in Gaza since 2017 and assumed leadership of the group's political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran this July.
Israeli authorities said they had been pursuing Sinwar for a year and that he had been hiding "behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and below ground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip." The IDF and Israel Security Agency said their operations in recent weeks in southern Gaza restricted his movement and "led to his elimination" on Wednesday.
"Sinwar died while beaten, persecuted and on the run -- he didn't die as a commander, but as someone who only cared for himself," Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said in a statement. "This is a clear message to all of our enemies - the IDF will reach anyone who attempts to harm the citizens of Israel or our security forces, and we will bring you to justice."
The IDF initially said they were "checking the possibility" that the Hamas leader was among three militants killed in an operation in Gaza and were working to confirm identification through dental images and DNA testing.
Israeli police said there is a "definitive identification" of Sinwar's assassination based on a comparison of dental records and fingerprint matching.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heralded his death as "an important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas" in a video address.
A demonstrator holds a sign about the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a protest calling for a cease-fire deal and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas, Oct. 17, 2024, in Tel Aviv, Israel.Ariel Schalit/AP
Katz said Sinwar's death "creates a possibility for the immediate release of the abductees and to bring about a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza -- without Hamas and without Iranian control."
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also said in a statement that Israel "must act in every way possible to bring back the 101 hostages" still in Gaza.
Netanyahu said that to those who peacefully return the hostages, "we will allow him to go out and live."
"The return of our hostages is an opportunity to achieve all our goals and it brings the end of the war closer," he said.
The head of the political wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar attends a rally in support of Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque in Gaza City, Oct. 1, 2022.Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he directed Special Operations personnel and intelligence professionals to "work side-by-side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar" and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.
"There has rarely been a military campaign like this, with Hamas leaders living and moving through hundreds of miles of tunnels, organized in multiple stories underground, determined to protect themselves with no care for the civilians suffering above ground," he said. "Today, however, proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes."
Biden said it is a "good day" for Israel, the U.S. and the world, and likened Israelis' reactions to the death to "scenes witnessed throughout the United States after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011."
Biden said he will be speaking with Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to "discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people."
Seven Americans are among the 101 hostages remaining in Gaza, four of whom are believed to still be alive, Biden said.
During remarks while at a campaign stop in Milwaukee, Vice President Kamala Harris said Sinwar has "blood on his hands" and assured that "any terrorist who kills Americans, threatens the American people or threatens our troops or our interests, know this, we will always bring you to justice."
In 1989, an Israeli court sentenced Sinwar to four life sentences for his role in killing suspected Palestinian informers and plotting to murder two Israeli soldiers.
Sinwar spent the following 22 years in prison before becoming one of more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees released in 2011 in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage by Hamas for five years.
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Congratulations to the Israeli Defense Forces for bringing a murderous terrorist to much deserved justice.
I even just saw a report about a woman in Gaza hoping he rots in hell.
Another one bites the dust!
I suppose the big question now is-- who will replace him? Will Hamas' new leader continue the way Sinwar has-- or wil the new leader be willing to accept a comprise and make peace?
They're reporting that one possible replacement is his brother, another hard-line terrorist.
gone to join all the other religious radicals in history ...
Some Gazans support Hamas-- but many don't.(Of course the ones that realize what he has done to them are usually afraid to speak out...)
Does this mean the war is over? Not while Netanyahu has a say.
This probably means the end for any remaining hostages, sadly.
The day they were kidnapped was the probable end for many, if not most, of the hostages.
letting hamas and hezbollah kill off all the hostages in retaliation would solve bibi's biggest problem at home ...
I don't think so. His biggest problem is his criminal indictment.
he and the ultra nationalists will take another run at destroying the israeli judicial system and getting him off the hook after he elevates himself to war hero status ...
One of my local cousins got an email from one of our Israeli cousins this week, who serves in the IDF reserves. He said: "Our government is... terrible and Bibi does not take responsibility and doesn't step down. The brave people of Israel deserve better than our corrupt politicians."
I think I will trust his opinion over the opinion of American right wingers.
I feel for the israeli people. they suffer from the problem we're facing in 19 days. a corrupt autocrat back by a bunch of radical religious extremists. bibi needs to take the point and lead the next ground assault in gaza ...
Netanyahu did not start this war. The ending of the war has nothing to do with Netanyahu, it has to do with the fact that the Hamas militants will not give up, will not surrender, will not stop trying to kill Jews until the last militant is dead and gone. As I've said time after time, since they are devout Muslims they will fight the Jews and kill them in order to bring forth The Day of Judgment, as they are commanded to do in their holy Quran, and if they die in the process they have been promised to be able to sojourn in The Garden of Allen forever deflowering and enjoying their 72 virgins. You can kill a snake by cutting off its head but it's already been proven by Hezbollah that even if you cut off the head of its snake, it will not stop them from carrying out what the Quran commands them to do.
Unfortunately these people will be fighting long after you and me and probably everyone on this forum is gone. Hopefully Netanyahu will be gone too by that time but you never know.
The idea that Israel can bomb its way to peace is delusional.
Have you ever known any devout Muslims? I've known several over the years and not a single one of them would ever think of killing a Jew or anyone.
a common theme among all 3 abrahamic radical religious wack jobs ...
Yes, you've met decent peaceful Muslims, so have I, in Israel, and even here. Have you ever met a terrorist Hamas militant? This Imam would not have been able to get away with saying this in Canada, but in America it's not considered hate speech, or an incentive or "justification" for killing Jews, it's your HOLY free speech that permits it.
It's permitted because it's a quotation from the "HOLY QURAN", the Muslim bible. It's part of the HOLY QURAN's command for Muslims to kill Jews. IT WILL NEVER END
You might despise Netanyahu, but you would be a fool if you did not believe this, that he said:
Heck no.
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Bullshit! Both Harris and Biden congratulated Israel on the kill!
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Israel trading 1000 detainees for a single soldier back in 2011 was stupid. they should have pulled 10 Palestinian terrorists out of prison every day and executed them until the soldier was released.
The death penalty is illegal in Israel.
(So they have many terrorists who murdered many israelis in their jails. They are treated well (some have even gotten college degrees by taking course by mail).
Only exceptions:
Currently the only crimes that are capital crimes in Israel are for crimes against humanity and treason .
It should be well known that the Palestinian terrorists who are in Israeli jails are financially supported with the donations and financial aid provided to the Palestinian government, and when a Palestinian terrorist is killed, their families are supported with your and my tax dollars as well, at least with what's left after the leaders have stashed a bundle in Switzerland.
The only time the death penalty was imposed in Israel that I'm aware of was to eliminate Adolf Eichmann. I don't think many people in the world would have complained about that.
IMO it's an opinion about the differing values of Jews as opposed to Palestinian terrorists.
same thing with the 10 americans held hostage. 10 cruise missiles a day landing on iranian infrastructure until their terrorist proxies release them ...
oh wait, iran likes hostages and ransom. put all iranian college students in the US in detention for a year and then ransom their wealthy iranian relatives ...
I'm not sure about this-- but I wonder if there are any Iranian students (i.e. those with iranian citizenship) in the U.S,?
And if there are any Iranians, they are probably all legal immigrants (?).
There are a lot of legal Iranian immigrants in the LA area--- in fact one was mayor of Beverly Hills!
Jamshid "Jimmy" Delshad (Persian: جمشید «جیمی» دلشاد) is an Iranian-American politician in the state of California. He became Mayor of Beverly Hills on March 21, 2007 when he was sworn in by Fred Hayman, and again on March 16, 2010. He is the first Iranian-American to hold public office in Beverly Hills.
(I've known some Iranian-Americans-- they insist on being called "Persians" -- or "Persian-Americans"). They are poud of their heritage. (They are not Arabs-- rather they are descendents of people of the ancient Persian Empire)
I can assure you that there are iranian, chinese, and russian college students in the US ...
Good riddance
I agree.
Who doesn't? The problem is that although most forms of life will die when its head is chopped off, terrorists heads seem to regenerate as already established by Hezbollah.
The best part is the SOB saw it coming.
I hope it wasn't instant death; he deserved to suffer tremendous pain as well.
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