Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar dead: Israel PM Netanyahu confirms death

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday confirmed that Hamas chief and one of the masterminds behind the horrific October 7 attacks last year, Yahya Sinwar, is dead, the Times of Israel reported.

The Prime Minister also instructed his aides to inform the families of Israeli hostages about the death of the Hamas chief. Earlier today, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that three terrorists have been eliminated during its operations in Gaza, among whom was Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who has now been confirmed dead.

"Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organization who was responsible for the October 7 massacre, is dead... Our work is not done. We will not rest until we bring home all our hostages by any means. We will continue to operate until we complete all our missions in defence of the people of Israel." IDF Spokesperson, RAdm. Daniel Hagari said.

RAdm. Daniel Hagari added, ...Sinwar was responsible for the most brutal attack against Israel in our history when terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel, massacred Israelis in their homes, raped our women, burned entire families alive, and took over 250 men, women, children and babies hostage into Gaza. 101 hostages still remain in captivity in brutal conditions.

For the past year, Sinwar tried to escape justice. He failed. We said we would find him and bring him to justice and we did it. It was Yaya Sinwar who decided to wage war with Israel. We've said our war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza, and we mean it. We are working to increase the amount of humanitarian aid, including food, water and medicine that goes into Gaza..."

This development comes weeks after Israel eliminated another high-profile leader, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, through airstrikes in Lebanon. Earlier, another senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, died in Iran. Though Tehran and Hamas have accused Israel of the attack, Israel has neither accepted nor denied the charge.

(With ANI inputs)