Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed, but Benjamin Netanyahu says the war in Gaza will continue

A split image showing Benjamin Netanyahu on the right and Yahya Sinwar on the left. Both are middle-aged men with grey hair wearing dark suit jackets.
Key points
  • Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was reportedly killed in the Gaza Strip during an Israeli military operation.
  • Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz hailed Sinwar’s death as a “victory for the entire free world.”
  • Sinwar was blamed for the October 7 attack on Israel that led to Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – – was killed by Israeli forces in the Palestinian enclave, Israel said Thursday.
His killing marks a huge success for Israel and a crucial event in the year-long conflict. Western leaders said his death provided the opportunity for the war to end, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it would go ahead.
The Israeli army (IDF) said it killed Sinwar on Wednesday in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip, with Israeli media reporting that the raid was a routine raid that captured Sinwar by chance.

“After completing the body identification process, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated,” the IDF said.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas, but sources in the militant group said indications from Gaza suggested Sinwar was killed in an Israeli operation in the Tal El Sultan area in the southern Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu, speaking in Jerusalem soon after the death was confirmed, said Sinwar’s death offered a chance for peace in the Middle East, but warned that the war in Gaza was not over and that Israel would continue until its hostages were returned.

“We will continue with all our strength until all your loved ones, who are our loved ones, return home. This is our highest commitment. This is my highest commitment.”

Families of hostages, Gazans respond to Sinwar’s death

In Gaza, residents said they believed the war would continue, but clung to the hope of self-determination.
In Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, a displaced Palestinian named Thabet Amour told Reuters that the Palestinian struggle would continue.

“This is a resistance that doesn’t disappear when men disappear,” he said. “The assassination of Sinwar will not lead to the end of the resistance, nor to a compromise, nor to surrender nor to the raising of the white flag.”

The murder raises new questions about the fate of the hostages still held by Hamas.
Sinwar was involved in negotiations that could have led to their release.
In Israel, families of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza said they hoped for a ceasefire now to bring the prisoners home, but also feared their loved ones were in greater danger.
The families of the Israeli hostages said that while Sinwar’s killing was a significant achievement, it would not be complete
Avi Marciano, the father of Noa Marciano, killed while she was a prisoner by Hamas, told the Israeli broadcaster KAN that “the monster, the one who took her away from me, who had the blood of all our daughters on his hands, finally encountered the gates of hell.”

“A little justice, but no comfort,” he said. “There will only be comfort when Naama, Liri, Agam, Daniela and Karina, our girls’ friends, return home.”

United States and France congratulate Netanyahu

US President Biden, who spoke by phone with Netanyahu to congratulate him, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, said Sinwar’s death provided an opportunity for an end to the conflict that has lasted more than a century. year in Gaza and for the return home of the Israeli hostages.
The United States wants to begin talks on a proposal to reach a ceasefire and secure the release of the hostages, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said, calling Sinwar the “main obstacle” to ending the war.
“That obstacle has obviously been removed. I can’t foresee that meaning that whoever replaces (Sinwar) will accept a ceasefire, but it removes what has been the main obstacle to getting one in recent months,” he said. In recent weeks, Sinwar had refused to negotiate at all, Miller said.
Sinwar’s death could represent “a fundamental turning point” as he renewed calls for the return of hostages, humanitarian support and a ceasefire.
Sinwar, who was appointed general leader of Hamas following the attack in Tehran in July, he was believed to be hiding in the labyrinth of tunnels that Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.
Despite Western hopes of a ceasefire, his death could reignite hostilities in the Middle East, where the prospect of an even wider conflict has grown.
Israel did it and is now planning a response to aaone of the main supporters and allies of Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Dozens of protesters gathered near the Israeli embassy in the Jordanian capital, Amman, to express their solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza following news of the death of the Hamas leader.

Protesters chanted slogans in support of Hamas and waved flags of Jordan and Palestine. Protester Abdel Rahim Sorour affirmed Hamas’ resilience, stating that “Hamas will remain strong with or without Sinwar.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *