LIVE | Yahya Sinwar killed: 'Good day for Israel, US, world', says Biden

Israel on Thursday (October 17) confirmed that top Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, has been killed by Israeli forces in a recent military operation.

Sinwar, a key figure in Hamas leadership for years, has been considered one of the organisation's most influential and hardline leaders. However, his death has not been officially confirmed by Hamas.

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These targeted killings are seen as Israel’s broader strategy to dismantle Hamas leadership and undermine its operational capabilities.

Sinwar was the mastermind of the attacks on October 7 last year that killed around 1,200 Israelis and over 250 taken as hostages.

What PM Netanyahu said

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sinwar, who “murdered thousands of Israelis” was “eliminated by heroic soldiers”.

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“The one who carried out the worst massacre in the history of our people since the Holocaust, the mass murderer who murdered thousands of Israelis, abducted hundreds of our people, was eliminated today by our heroic soldiers,” Netanyahu said.

“Today, as we promised we would, we settled accounts with him. Today, evil suffered a heavy blow, but our mission is not yet completed,” he added.

What US President said

In a statement released by the White House, US President Joe Biden too confirmed the killing of Sinwar and said “this is good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world”.

Biden called Sinwar “an insurmountable obstacle” and “that obstacle no longer exists”.

“Early this morning, Israeli authorities informed my national security team that a mission they conducted in Gaza likely killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. DNA tests have now confirmed that Sinwar is dead. This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” Biden said on Thursday.

He added, “As the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and citizens from over 30 countries. He was the mastermind of the October 7th massacres, rapes, and kidnappings. It was on his orders that Hamas terrorists invaded Israel to intentionally – and with unspeakable savagery – kill and massacre civilians, a Holocaust survivor, children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children.

“Over 1,200 people were killed on that day, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, including 46 Americans. More than 250 were taken hostage, with 101 still missing. That number includes seven Americans, four of whom are believed to still be alive and held by Hamas terrorists. Sinwar is the man most responsible for this, and for so much of what followed.”

Biden said with US’s help Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “relentlessly pursued Hamas’s leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run.”

“There is now the opportunity for a “day after” in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us,” he said.