Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Gaza by Israeli forces, officials said

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Thursday.

Sinwar has been credited with masterminding the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people, the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history.

“The master murderer Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed” by Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Katz said in a statement. “This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the axis of evil of extreme Islam led by Iran.”

Sinwar, 62, had served as Hamas’ leader in Gaza since 2017 and took over leadership of the group’s politburo following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran this July.

Israeli authorities said they had been hunting Sinwar for a year and that he had been hiding “behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and underground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.” The IDF and Israel Security Agency said their operations in recent weeks in southern Gaza restricted their movement and “led to their elimination” on Wednesday.

Sinwar’s killing was accidental, according to an official familiar with the operation.

A unit of reserve combat soldiers in Rafah attempting to detonate a missile that failed to explode opened fire on a group of four gunmen, the official said. They also fired at a fifth person who was throwing grenades from the window of a nearby building at the soldiers, according to the official. Soldiers directed tank fire and a missile at the building, although the man was still alive, the official said. A sniper from the unit fired on him, the official said.

On Thursday, the IDF released drone footage it said showed Sinwar in the building, wounded in the firefight.

When a different unit went to check if the man was still alive Thursday morning, they discovered Sinwar’s body, the official said.

“Sinwar died while being hit, chased and on the run – he did not die as a commander, but as someone who only cared about himself,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement. “This is a clear message to all our enemies: the IDF will come after anyone who tries to harm the citizens of Israel or our security forces, and we will bring you to justice.”

The IDF initially said it was “checking the possibility” that the Hamas leader was among the three militants killed in an operation in Gaza and was working to confirm the identification through dental imaging and DNA testing.

Israeli police later said there was a “definitive identification” of Sinwar’s murder based on a comparison of dental records and fingerprint matching.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his death as “an important milestone in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas” in a video address.

Katz said Sinwar’s death “creates the possibility of the immediate release of the abductees and of bringing about a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza, without Hamas and without Iranian control.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also said in a statement that Israel “must act in all possible ways to recover the 101 hostages” still in Gaza.

Netanyahu said that those who return the hostages peacefully, “we will allow them to go out and live.”

“The return of our hostages is an opportunity to achieve all our goals and brings the end of the war closer,” he said.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that he ordered special operations personnel and intelligence professionals to “work side by side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar” and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza.

“Rarely has there been a military campaign like this, with Hamas leaders living and moving through hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, organized into multiple floors underground, determined to protect themselves without caring for the civilians suffering above the ground,” he said. “Today, however, proves once again that no terrorist anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes.”

Biden said it is a “good day” for Israel, the US and the world, comparing Israeli reactions to the death to “scenes witnessed in America after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011”.

During remarks after landing in Berlin on Thursday, Biden told reporters he spoke to Netanyahu to congratulate him and said they will “work on” the plan for the next day. He added that it was “time to end this war and bring these hostages home.”

Seven Americans are among the 101 hostages remaining in Gaza, four of whom are believed to be still alive, Biden said.

Speaking at a campaign stop in Milwaukee, Vice President Kamala Harris said Sinwar has “blood on his hands” and assured that “any terrorist who kills Americans, threatens the American people or threatens our troops or our interests, know that, we will.” always bring you to justice.”

After Israeli forces and officials announced the death of the Hamas leader, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said Thursday they are moving into a “new, escalated phase” in the “confrontation with the Israeli enemy.”

This new phase of the conflict “will be revealed by the developments and events of the coming days,” Hezbollah said in the statement.

In 1989, an Israeli court sentenced Sinwar to four life sentences for his role in the murder of suspected Palestinian informants and the plot to kill two Israeli soldiers.

Sinwar spent the next 22 years in prison before becoming one of more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees released in 2011 in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held hostage by Hamas for five years.

ABC News’ Guy Davies, Matt Gutman and Jordana Miller contributed to this report.