Hamas leader killed in Rafah

JERUSALEM:

Israel’s defence minister has hailed the Israeli military for killing Hamas’ leader, Yahya Sinwar,

Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant said Sinwar’s killing sends “a clear message to the residents of Gaza. The man who brought disaster and death to the Gaza strip, the man who made you suffer as a result of his murderous actions — the end of this man has come”.

Sinwar was killed in Rafah on Wednesday after an Israeli tank launched a shell at a building, causing it to collapse. The soldiers were on a regular patrol in Gaza when they encountered a number of Hamas militants. They were not specifically searching for Sinwar.

Photos of Sinwar published by Israeli media show a man wearing a bulletproof vest, surrounded by grenades, lying in the rubble of a building with a head wound. He was not surrounded by hostages or using them as human shields when he was killed.

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.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Sinwar’s killing Wednesday a “military and moral achievement for the Israeli army”.

“The assassination of Sinwar 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,” he said in a statement Thursday.