Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, killed by Israeli forces

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, has been killed by Israeli soldiers in Southern Gaza, Israel has confirmed.

Sinwar had led the armed group in Gaza since 2017 and was described by Israel, the United States and United Kingdom as the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks when Hamas gunmen killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, said: “Today, as we promised to do, we settled the score with him.”

The Israeli military said Sinwar was among three militants killed on Wednesday during a raid on a building in Rafah suspected of being used by senior Hamas figures.

It added that there were no signs of hostages at the site. It has previously been claimed that Sinwar would travel with Israeli hostages as a means of protection.

Three gunmen were sighted by Israeli soldiers running from house to house, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said. Once fired upon, they split up and Sinwar entered a building alone.

He was spotted sitting in a chair by a drone which he threw a piece of wood at, Hagari added. Soldiers entered the building and found Sinwar with a vest, a gun and 40,000 shekels (£8,240), he said.

Lt Col Hertzi Halevi, Chief of the IDF, said: “We said we would get to him and we did get to him. The world is now better off without him.”

Confirmation of his death was delayed by several hours, as Israel compared dental records and fingerprints. Israel will have had his genetic data on file from the decades he spent in an Israeli Prison.

Earlier, graphic images circulating online appeared to show a dead body resembling Sinwar lying in rubble with a severe head injury.

The IDF said at the time it was possible he had been killed but did not want to prematurely confirm the death of a man it had been pursuing for over a year.

Addressing the families of the hostages remaining in Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel would “continue with all our might until we bring every one of your loved ones home, as they are our loved ones too”.