By James Mackenzie
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli ministers have been informed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has very likely been killed by Israeli troops who were conducting an operation in southern Gaza, two officials with knowledge of the situation said.
Israeli broadcasters quoted unnamed officials as saying Sinwar, the architect of the devastating attack on Israel last October that set off the Gaza war, was dead.
There was no immediate confirmation from the military, which earlier said it was checking the possibility that Sinwar, Israel’s most wanted enemy, was among three militants killed during an operation in the Gaza Strip.
“At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed,” it said in a statement.
It said there were no signs that Israeli hostages had been present in the building where the three militants were killed.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Al-Majd, a Hamas-linked website that usually publishes about security issues, urged Palestinians to wait for information about Sinwar from the group itself and not Israeli media outlets, which it said aimed to break their spirit.
Israeli media reported that the operation was a routine raid that caught Sinwar by chance.
If confirmed, his death would represent a major boost to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a string of high-profile assassinations of prominent leaders of its enemies in recent months.
Families of the 101 Israeli and foreign hostages still held in Gaza welcomed the news about Sinwar but repeated their call for a deal to bring the hostages home.
“We call on the Israeli government, world leaders, and mediating countries to leverage the military achievement into a diplomatic one by pursuing an immediate agreement for the release of all 101 hostages,” the group said.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant posted a message on social media platform X with a biblical quotation.
“‘You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.’ – Leviticus 26 Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them.”
The post contained pictures of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in Beirut last month and former Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, who was killed in August, with a blank space for a third picture between them. All three were crossed out in red.
SUCCESSION QUESTIONS
Sinwar, the chief architect of the on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, has been at the top of Israel’s wanted list ever since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023 killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages into Gaza.
Israel’s campaign in response has killed more than 42,000 people, turned much of Gaza into rubble and displaced most of its population. But Sinwar had so far eluded detection, possibly hiding in the warren of tunnels Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.
His death would be the heaviest blow Hamas has suffered in more than a year of war, with more serious consequences for its remaining forces in Gaza than the assassination of former political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who had less connection with the day-to-day running of the conflict.
Previously leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Sinwar was named as its overall leader following the assassination of former political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
It remains unclear who may succeed Sinwar, an uncompromising enemy of Israel with a reputation as a ruthless enforcer within the organisation. None of his potential successors has the same standing.
The group’s mastermind and political and strategic leader, Sinwar had unrivalled influence within Hamas and his death could potentially open the way to renewed efforts to reach a ceasefire deal to end the fighting.
Israel estimates it has destroyed Hamas as an organized military force and killed more than 18,000 Hamas fighters. But it is still engaged in fierce battles with small groups of fighters operating in the rubble of Gaza.