Iran-backed Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, has confirmed the death of leader Yahya Sinwar, considered to be the mastermind of the October 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the war in Gaza between Israel and the militant group.
Deputy Gaza Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, who is also the group's chief negotiator, confirmed on October 18 Israeli reports that Sinwar was killed in Gaza in a televised address where he called on Israel to end its war in the coastal strip of land and withdraw its forces.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) first confirmed Sinwar's death on October 17, saying soldiers of the 828th Brigade (Bislach) identified and eliminated three "terrorists," and "after completing the process of identifying the body, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated."
"People are shocked and saddened. A Palestinian leader has been killed," 37-year-old Ramzi Sahlout, a former teacher who now helps as a volunteer at a local hospital, told Radio Farda via WhatsApp from northern Gaza. "The situation remains unchanged, and nothing new has happened. The war continues, and the only important issue for people now is the end of the war."
Sinwar's death leaves Iran-backed Hamas without a leader for the second time in less than three months and, according to senior officials from the United States and other Israeli allies, creates the possibility of a new scenario for the region.
"We believe, continue to believe, that finding an end to the war is critical, and we also believe that Mr. Sinwar's death...can provide an inflection point to getting there," said White House spokesperson John Kirby, who is in Berlin with U.S. President Joe Biden as he meets European officials on a variety of topics.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin noted the removal of Sinwar from the scene opens a path for "a change of direction."
"We'll see how things evolve," Austin said on October 18 during a visit to Brussels for a meeting of NATO defense ministers. "But clearly there are opportunities for a change in direction, and we would hope that, you know, parties would would take advantage of that, both in Lebanon, in Gaza and in Lebanon."
Added NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte: "I personally will not miss him."
Sinwar's death represents a major victory for the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been under pressure from many allies, including the United States, for the rising number of civilian casualties in Gaza as a result of the war, and accusations that Israel has been hindering aid supplies to the territory, where hundreds of thousands are living in a growing humanitarian crisis.
But neither side appears prepared, at least publicly, to seize on the opportunity Austin and other diplomats around the world have spoken about in the wake of Sinwar's death.
Hamas said on October 18 it would launch a new phase of fighting in the conflict, while Netanyahu said in a speech late the previous evening that "our war has not ended."
The current war between the two sides broke out after Hamas's October 7 attack, that also saw the militants take some 240 people back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel has since launched a withering offensive that, according to the Hamas-led Heath Ministry in Gaza, has seen more than 42,000 people killed while displacing virtually all of Gaza's 2.3 million people.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sinwar had rebuffed efforts by the United States and its partners to bring the war to a close through an agreement that would free the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The fighting has also spilled over into Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., while the EU blacklists its armed wing but not its political party, has fired rockets and missiles into Israel on almost a daily basis in support of Hamas.
Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament and the militants control the southern part of the country that borders Israel.
The IDF launched a ground incursion into the southern border area earlier this month, saying it was pushing out Hezbollah militants.