(ASSOCIATED PRESS) Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the military said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most wanted man.
Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as a settling of scores just over a year after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others in an attack that stunned the country. They also presented it as a turning point in the campaign to destroy Hamas, urging its fighters to surrender and release some 100 hostages still in Gaza.
“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the start of the day after Hamas," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
U.S. officials expressed hopes for a cease-fire with Sinwar out of the picture. But eliminating him may not end the devastating war, during which Israel has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of the Gaza Strip.
His death is a crippling blow to the group. But Hamas has proven resilient to past losses of leaders. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas of Sinwar’s death.
Netanyahu has said Israel will keep fighting until hostages are free, and that it will keep control over Gaza long enough to ensure Hamas does not rearm — an effective occupation that raises the possibility of months or even years of continued fighting.
Earlier this month Israel opened a new front in its war with Hezbollah, stepping up bombardment in Lebanon and launching a ground campaign against the Iran-backed militia after a year of trading cross-border fire.
In his speech about Sinwar's death, Netanyahi said, “Our war is not yet ended.”
President Joe Biden called Sinwar's death a “good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” and he said it opens the way for "a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” He said he would talk with Netanyahu "to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all.”
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