Israel Says It Has Killed the Mastermind of the Oct. 7 Attack

The Israeli Defense Forces announced on Thursday that it has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,000 people and kicked off the year-long war between Israel and Hamas that has wrought devastation and tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza. 

According to the IDF, Sinwar was killed on Wednesday during operations in Gaza. “Terrorist mastermind Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7th, was eliminated today by IDF soldiers,” Israel Katz, Israel’s Foreign Minister, said Thursday. 

Israeli Army Radio, a government-funded station operated by the IDF, reported on Thursday that Sinwar and two other Hamas militants were killed after an Israeli tank fired at a house suspected of harboring Hamas members. According to sources who spoke to CNN, dental records and fingerprints were used to identify Sinwar’s body. The IDF reportedly was not aware that the Hamas leader was in the house before the operation. 

Sinwar was the head Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip between 2017 and August 2024, when he was elevated to the position of Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau following the assassination of the group’s previous head, Ismail Haniyeh. Sinwar’s death is a major blow to the militant group, and U.S. officials have expressed hope that his demise will provide an opening for Israel and Hamas to finalize a ceasefire after more than a year of deadly conflict. 

Those hopes will depend on the objectives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. On Thursday, Benny Gantz, an Israeli Knesset member who until July served on Netanyahu’s war cabinet, wrote that “the circle is closed, but the mission is not over,” and that “the IDF will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come, and now the series of achievements and the elimination of Sinwar must be taken advantage of to bring about the return of the abductees and the replacement of Hamas’ rule.” 
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The families of hostages who remain trapped or missing in Gaza have called on the involved parties to seize the opportunity to negotiate an end to the war and the return of their loved ones. 

“No more delays and no more demands,” a coalition of hostage families said in a statement on Thursday. “Whether through negotiation or by any other means, all parties must immediately seize this opportunity to bring home the 101 remaining hostages, including seven Americans, before it is too late. The elimination of this brutal terrorist is a step toward justice. But true victory for Israel, its allies, and for the world will only be achieved when every hostage is released and the suffering of civilians in Gaza ends.”