(NewsNation) — Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead, Israeli military sources confirmed to NewsNation, following an initial DNA check.
Sinwar is believed to be the architect behind the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks against Israel.
The State Department said in a briefing that it would be redoubling efforts to bring Hamas to the negotiating table in an effort to reach a cease-fire deal and return hostages home in the wake of Sinwar’s death.
Israeli operations in Gaza killed three Hamas militants, including Sinwar, the Israel Defense Forces announced Thursday. The military said it couldn’t confirm the identities of the other alleged Hamas members who died.
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“There were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area,” Israel’s military wrote on X. “The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution.”
Who is Yahya Sinwar?
Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in the Gaza city of Khan Younis. He was an early member of Hamas, which was formed in 1987.
Sinwar went on to lead the group’s security arm, which worked to purge it of Israeli informants, the Associated Press reported.
Israel arrested him in the late 1980s and he admitted to killing 12 suspected collaborators. The deed earned earned Sinwar the nickname “The Butcher of Khan Younis.”
He received four life-term prison sentences for offenses that included killing two Israeli soldiers.
Sinwar is also widely believed to be behind the 2016 killing of another top Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtewi, in an apparent internal power struggle.
Sinwar’s suspected role in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel
Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ armed wing, are believed to have engineered the surprise Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
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Israel said it killed Deif in a July strike, but Hamas says he’s still alive.
The Oct. 7 offensive killed about 1,200 Israelis — most of whom were civilians — and catalyzed the war that has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health authorities there.
Hamas said it launched the attack in retaliation for Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and to push the Palestinian cause back onto the world agenda.
What does Sinwar’s death mean?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could use Sinwar’s death to support his claims that the military operations in Gaza have been a success in taking out the top Hamas leaders, NewsNation partner The Hill reported.
The United States has accused Sinwar of being an obstacle in the way of a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, but Netanyahu has been accused of the same.
Talks of a hostage release agreement halted in August. It’s unclear how, if at all, Sinwar’s death could affect hostage dealings.
Hamas is believed to be holding about 100 hostages in Gaza, and about 9,500 Palestinians remain detained in Israeli custody, many of whom Israel is holding without formal criminal charges, international human rights groups maintain.
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Responses to Sinwar’s death
In a statement, families of Americans held hostage called for the return of all hostages through negotiation or any other means
“It is now time for every single hostage held in Gaza to be returned to their families. No more delays and no more demands. Whether through negotiation or by any other means, all parties must immediately seize this opportunity to bring home the 101 remaining hostages, including seven Americans, before it is too late,” they said. “The elimination of this brutal terrorist is a step toward justice. But true victory for Israel, its allies, and for the world will only be achieved when every hostage is released and the suffering of civilians in Gaza ends.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Ryder called Sinwar’s death “a major counterterrorism achievement.”
President Joe Biden said in a statement he had directed U.S. Special Operations personnel and intelligence professionals to work with the Israeli authorities to track Sinwar and other leaders shortly after Oct. 7.
“With our intelligence help, the IDF relentlessly pursued Hamas’s leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run. 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,” hed said. “Today, however, proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes.”
Biden also emphasized Israel’s right to pursue and eliminate the military capabilities and leadership of Hamas in the name of national security.
Vice President Kamala Harris said Sinwar’s leadership led to “unconscionable suffering” for innocent people and said he had blood on his hands. She also had a message for any terrorist that kills or threatens Americans.
“We will bring you to justice,” she said.
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The Associated Press and The Hill contributed to this report.