Hamas leader Sinwar killed in operation in southern Gaza on October 16

"The IDF and Shin Bet confirm that on October 16, 2024, after a year of pursuit, soldiers of the Southern Command killed Yahya Sinwar in the southern Gaza Strip," the press office said.

"In recent weeks, Israeli forces have been operating in the southern Gaza Strip following intelligence that indicated the potential location of senior Hamas members," the IDF press office added. "Soldiers operating in the area detected and killed three terrorists."

"Once the identification process is complete, we can confirm that Sinwar has been killed," the IDF noted.

The Gaza campaign is not over yet

The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar does not mean Israel will stop its operation in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised speech.

"Once again we have shown what will happen to those who harm us. Today, I tell you that Yahya Sinwar has been killed. But the fight is not over yet. Evil has suffered a fatal blow, but our mission is not yet complete," he said.

"Hamas will no longer rule Gaza," the Israeli prime minister continued.

Netanyahu pledged that the operation would continue with full force until the hostages held by the extremists were freed. He said the extremists who released the hostages and laid down their weapons would live.

According to the prime minister, the assassination of Mr. Sinwar marked the beginning of the final days of Hamas.

Mr. Biden congratulates Mr. Netanyahu

US President Joe Biden called Netanyahu from his plane to congratulate him on the removal of Sinwar, the Israeli prime minister's office said.

"The US President praised the Israel Defense Forces for this excellent operation," the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said.

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Biden “agreed that an opportunity had emerged to accelerate the release of hostages” held in the Gaza Strip, and agreed to “cooperate to achieve this goal”, the office added.

The US provided intelligence to Israel.

The US Department of Defense said US forces were not directly involved in the operation to kill the Hamas leader, but provided Israel with intelligence on the locations of senior members of the group.

"This was an Israeli operation. No US forces were directly involved. The US helped contribute information and intelligence related to the hostage rescue, tracking and locating the Hamas leaders responsible for the hostage taking, and so that certainly contributed to the overall picture," Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said.

He referred questions about details of the operation to Israel.