Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar shot dead in Gaza, Israel reveals

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Thursday confirmed killing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Sinwar was shot dead when the IDF commandos stormed a building in Gaza where he had been hiding in a tunnel.

A photo widely shared online shows a man in military fatigues sprawled in the rubble of a heavily destroyed building in Gaza.

The Hamas leader is deemed the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel triggered the Gaza war.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed the killing of the Hamas leader.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also hailed his soldiers.

“The task before us is not yet complete,” Netanyahu told journalists during a press conference.

A senior CIA operative welcomed the Sinwar killing Thursday terming a sigh of relief to Israel.

His killing by Israeli forces operating in Gaza marks a huge success for Israel and a pivotal event in the year-long war.

The body has been taken to Israel for forensic tests.

"Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers," Katz said in a statement.

Sinwar was found hiding in tunnels in Gaza where dozens of civilians abducted during a Hamas raid into Israel a year ago are stashed.

He was the chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau since August 2024 and the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip since February 2017, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated on July 31, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. 

While Israel claims Hamas is a terrorist organisation, most Arab countries claim the former is the one on the wrong side.

The US, a key ally of Israel, also sees Hamas as a militant group.

The Democratic Presidential candidate, current Vice President Kamala Harris, said the killing of Sinwar is a step of progress towards “eliminating the threat Hamas poses to Israel”.

"Justice has been served," Harris told reporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Harris, who is backed by President Joe Biden, is squaring it out with Republican Donald Trump.

The US election will be held on November 5, 2024.