Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed by Israel

 West piles pressure on Netanyahu to end conflict after death of Oct 7 mastermind but he vows to ‘go into Rafah and finish the job’

The death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was hailed as a ‘great military and moral achievement for Israel’ Credit: Anadolu

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Israel has killed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, in an assassination that marks the “beginning of the end” of the terror group’s rule of Gaza.

Benjamin Netanyahu urged Hamas’s remaining terrorists to lay down their arms, hand over the hostages and surrender as he hailed the death of Israel’s most wanted man.

The mastermind of the Oct 7 massacre was killed in a shoot-out with IDF troops in the southern city of Rafah on Thursday.

The soldiers had happened upon Sinwar, who was thought to be hiding in the vast tunnel network underneath Gaza, by chance and were not immediately aware of the magnitude of the clash.

“This is the beginning of the day after Hamas,” Mr Netanyahu said in a video statement, confirming the death of the man behind the “worst massacre in our people’s history since the Holocaust”.

While Israel had “settled the score” with Sinwar, who plotted the Oct 7 attack in which 1,200 Israeli citizens were killed, Mr Netanyahu said more needed to be done to end the war.

Addressing Gazan civilians, he said: “Sinwar ruined your life. He told you he was a lion, but in reality he was hiding in a dark den. And he was killed when he fled in a panic from our soldiers.”

Hamas must release the remaining hostages they hold, he said, and any who return captives would be allowed to leave Gaza and live, Mr Netanyahu added.

But amid fears in the Israeli security establishment that Hamas could kill hostages in revenge for Sinwar’s death, he threatened to kill any who harm the captives.

“We will not stop the war,” he said. “We will go into Rafah” to finish the job.

‘Opportunity to finally end the war’

But the killing of Hamas’ figurehead raised hopes that an end to more than 12-months of brutal fighting could be reached.

Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, however, urged Israel to use the death of Sinwar to seek peace.

“This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war,” she said at a campaign stop in Milwaukee.

Joe Biden, the US president, said he would be discussing “ending the war once and for all” with Mr Netanyahu in the coming days.

The Biden administration has long pushed for Mr Netanyahu to restrain its operations in Gaza and Lebanon, although its efforts have had little effect as Israel pursues a definitive defeat of the Iran-backed terror groups on its borders.