The Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, has been killed by Israeli forces, ending a year-long hunt for the mastermind of the 7 October attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
The Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, confirmed reports yesterday in a message sent to counterparts around the world. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said almost immediately after Katz's statement was reported by Israeli media that Sinwar had been "eliminated".
His death is a major boost to the IDF and Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as the latest in a string of high-profile assassinations of enemy leaders in recent months.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said: "Today we have settled the score," describing Sinwar's death as the "beginning of the end".
"We have demonstrated today that all those who try to harm us, this is what happens to them," the prime minister said. "And how the forces of good can always beat the forces of evil and darkness. The war is still ongoing, and it's costly." Addressing Israeli citizens, Netanyahu said there were "a lot of challenges still facing us" and the country must "stand firm on our ground and to continue to fight".
Israel would continue with "all our strength" to bring the hostages still held in Gaza home, he added.
The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, called Sinwar's killing a step of progress towards eliminating the threat Hamas poses to Israel.
"Justice has been served," Harris told reporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "Sinwar was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people, including the victims of October 7 and hostages killed in Gaza.
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