TEL AVIV, October 17. /TASS/. Head of the Hamas Politburo Yahya Sinwar was eliminated during the operation of the Israeli military in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on October 16, the IDF press office said.
"The IDF and the Shin Bet confirm that, on October 16, 2024, after a year-long pursuit, servicemen of the Southern Command eliminated Yahya Sinwar in the southern part of the Gaza Strip," the press office said.
"In the recent weeks, the Israeli forces operated in the southern part of the Gaza Strip in accordance with the intelligence, which indicated the potential locations of high-ranking Hamas members," the IDF press office added. "Soldiers operating in this area detected and eliminated three terrorists."
"After the identification process is complete, we can confirm that Sinwar was eliminated," the IDF noted.
Gaza operation doesn’t end
The killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar doesn’t mean Israel will halt its operation in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address.
"Once again we have shown what happens to those who do us harm. Today I am telling you that Yahya Sinwar has been killed. But the war has not ended with this elimination. Evil has been dealt a crushing blow, but our mission is not yet complete," he said.
"Hamas will no longer rule Gaza," the prime minister went on to say.
The operation will continue with full might until the release of the hostages that are held by radicals, Netanyahu pledged. He said radicals that release hostages and lay down their weapons will be allowed to live.
According to the prime minister, the killing of Sinwar marks the beginning of the last days of Hamas.
Biden congratulates Netanyahu
US President Joe Biden called Netanyahu from his plane to congratulate the prime minister with the elimination of Sinwar, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office said.
"The President of the United States praised the Israel Defense Force for the excellent operation," the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Netanyahu and Biden "agreed that an opportunity has emerged to accelerate the liberation of hostages," held captive in the Gaza Strip, and agreed "to work together in order to achieve this goal," the Office added.
US provided Israel with intelligence
The US Department of Defense said American forces were not directly engaged in the operation to eliminate Hamas leader, but provided Israel with intelligence about the location of the group’s top members.
"This was an Israeli operation. There was no US forces directly involved. The United States has helped to contribute information and intelligence as it relates to hostage recovery and the tracking and locating of Hamas leaders who have been responsible for holding hostages, and so certainly that contributes, in general, to the picture," Pentagon Spokesman Patrick Ryder said.
He referred questions about the details of the operation to Israel.