Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza by Israeli forces, officials say

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Thursday.

Sinwar has been credited as the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that led to the deaths of 1,200 people, the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history.

“The master murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed” by Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Katz said in a statement. “This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the evil axis of extreme Islam led by Iran.”

Sinwar, 62, had served as Hamas’ leader in Gaza since 2017 and assumed leadership of the group’s political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran this July.

Read more: ABC News