Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, the country's foreign minister confirmed on Thursday.

What You Need To Know

  • Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the architects of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza

  • Sinwar has topped Israel’s most wanted list since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war just over a year ago, and his killing strikes a powerful blow to the militant group

  • Sinwar was one of the masterminds behind Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust

  • Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that Sinwar's death "will create the possibility to immediately release the hostages and to bring a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza"

Sinwar was one of the masterminds behind Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Around 250 others were abducted in the attack; some 100 captives are still inside Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead. 

“The mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said. "This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world."

Katz said that Sinwar's death "will create the possibility to immediately release the hostages and to bring a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza - without Hamas and without Iranian control."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later Thursday that the country "settled its account" with "the person who carried out the worst massacre in the history of our people since the Holocaust" and called Sinwar's killing an "important moment" in bringing home the hostages -- but cautioned that the war "has not yet ended."

He also vowed immunity and safe passage for anyone who surrenders weapons and facilitates the return of hostages.

Troops appeared to have run across him in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was the man Israel has hunted for more than a year.

Sinwar has topped Israel’s most wanted list since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war just over a year ago, and his killing strikes a powerful blow to the militant group. There was no immediate confirmation from Hamas of his death.

Israel has vowed to kill him since the beginning of its retaliatory campaign in Gaza. He has been Hamas’ top leader inside the Gaza Strip for years, closely connected to its military wing while dramatically building up its capabilities.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed Hamas fighters, saying it “is time to go out, release the hostages, raise your hands, surrender.”

The families of the American hostages held in Gaza called for their immediate release.

"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."

An Israeli security official said it appeared that the man who turned out to be Sinwar was killed in a battle, not in a planned targeted airstrike.

The Israeli news site N12 said Sinwar appears to have been killed by chance in a battle on Wednesday. It said that troops tracked a group of militants into a building, then attacked the militants with tank fire, causing the building to collapse. As troops unearthed the dead militants, they noticed that one appeared to resemble Sinwar.

Photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling Sinwar with a gaping head wound, dressed in a military-style vest, half buried in the rubble of a destroyed building.

Sinwar was imprisoned by Israel from the late 1980s until 2011, and during that time he underwent treatment for brain cancer – leaving Israeli authorities with extensive medical records.

Sinwar was chosen as Hamas’s top leader in July after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran. Israel has also claimed to have killed the head of Hamas’ military wing Mohammed Deif in an airstrike, but the group has said he survived.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza to eliminate Hamas after the militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel’s offensive has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.