IDF kills Hamas leader, drone footage shows final moments

More than a year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the IDF said Thursday it had killed the man it believes was the chief architect of that cross-border massacre, raising questions about the future of war and the militant group. same, which has faced blow after blow in recent months.

Video footage released by the Israel Defense Forces shows tanks firing at a building housing the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been barricaded, authorities said Friday.

Sinwar, the architect of the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, was inside a building in Gaza when a tank opened fire, the IDF said. He was killed by Israeli forces on Thursday.

Israel vowed to kill the terror leader after the attack he led killed 1,200 people in Israeli communities, and several hundred others were taken hostage by Hamas terror fighters.

Sinwar’s death could represent a rare opportunity to reach a ceasefire, US officials say, as Israel has killed several other senior Hamas commanders, including Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s former political leader, as well as leaders of the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

Hamas and Hezbollah are part of an axis of militant groups backed by Iran.