Israel claims killing Hamas chief

JERUSALEM:

Israel said on Thursday its forces killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, accused of masterminding the October 7, 2023 attack, calling it a "heavy blow" to the Palestinian group it has been fighting for more than a year.

The Israeli military said that "after a year-long pursuit", troops "eliminated Yahya Sinwar in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip" on Wednesday. Hamas has not confirmed his death.

While the war was "not over yet", Netanyahu said Sinwar's death was an "important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas".

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Sinwar was a "mass murderer... responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7", while President Isaac Herzog hailed the killing of the leader behind "heinous acts of terrorism".

Sinwar rose through the ranks of the Palestinian group to become first its leader in Gaza, then its overall head after the killing in July of political chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Israel's announcement on Sinwar comes weeks after it assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a massive strike in Lebanon, where the Israeli military has been at war since late September.

A slew of other Iran-backed commanders have also been killed in recent months.

Israel said earlier this year that it had killed Mohammed Deif, Hamas's military chief, though the Palestinian group has not confirmed it.

Deif stood accused of planning, with Sinwar, the October 7 attack.

With Hamas massively weakened more than a year into the Gaza war, Sinwar's death could deal a seismic blow to the organisation.

Israel's Katz said his "elimination... creates an opportunity for the immediate release of the hostages" and could "lead to a new reality in Gaza, one that is without Hamas and without Iranian control".

Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government and international mediators to leverage "this major achievement to secure hostages' return".

The Israeli military earlier said it was checking whether Sinwar was one of three killed in an operation in Gaza, with an Israeli security official telling AFP that a DNA test was conducted.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed 42,438 people, the majority civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which the UN considers reliable.

Netanyahu, in a video statement, called on Palestinians to free the hostages. "Whoever lays down his weapon and returns our hostages -- we will allow him to go on living," he said.

Israel on Thursday launched strikes on the south Lebanese city of Tyre, where the militant group and its allies hold sway.

The military said on Thursday that five soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon, but it did not specify when the deaths occurred.