Israeli Defence Forces have confirmed the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, in southern Gaza.
Sinwar led the armed group in Gaza since 2017 and was accused of being the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks, in which Hamas gunmen killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages.
Netanyahu called the killing of the Hamas chief the “beginning of the end” of the Gaza war.
Sinwar, along with two other militants, was killed during a raid on a suspected Hamas building in Rafah.
No hostages were found at the site. Sinwar allegedly used Israeli hostages for protection during travel.
According to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, three gunmen were spotted by Israeli soldiers, going from house to house. They scattered when they got fired at and Sinwar went into a building alone.
Hagari stated that a drone saw him sitting in a chair and he threw a piece of wood at it. Upon entering the building, soldiers discovered Sinwar with a vest, a gun, and 40,000 shekels (£8,240).
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.”
Israel delayed confirming his death for several hours while they compared dental records and fingerprints. Israel’s genetic data will be on file since he was in an Israeli prison for decades.
Earlier, there were pics going around that seemed to show Sinwar’s dead body in rubble with a bad head injury.
The IDF said they might have taken him out, but didn’t want to say for sure.
Netanyahu celebrated the killing of Sinwar, saying: “It’s not the end of the war in Gaza, but it’s the beginning of the end.”
According to him, the conflict could be over “tomorrow” if Hamas stops fighting and lets go of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Earlier, Netanyahu told the families of the hostages that Israel will do everything to bring their loved ones home.
