Israel announced the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 attack, calling his death a "heavy blow" to the Palestinian group, reports BSS/AFP.
The Israeli military said that after a year-long hunt, troops had on Wednesday "eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas, in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip". Hamas is yet to confirm his death.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas at the start of the war, hailed Sinwar's killing, saying: "Today evil has suffered a heavy blow."
While the Gaza war was "not over yet", he said Sinwar's death was an "important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas".
Chief of Hamas in Gaza at the time of the attack, Sinwar rose through the ranks of the Hamas to become its overall leader after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Sinwar was a "mass murderer... responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7".
Israel's announcement on Sinwar comes weeks after it assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike in Lebanon.
With Hamas already weakened due to Gaza war, Sinwar's death deals an immense blow to the organization.
US President Joe Biden, whose government is Israel's top arms provider, said: "This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world."
"There is now the opportunity for a 'day after' in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike."
- 'Settling the score' -
Israel has been at war with Hamas since the group's October 7 attack, during which also seized 251 hostages and took them into Gaza.
Ninety-seven remain in the Palestinian territory, including 34 who Israeli officials say are dead.
Following the attack, Netanyahu vowed to defeat Hamas.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 42,438 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures which the UN considers reliable.
Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said: "We are settling the score with Sinwar, who is responsible for that very difficult day a year ago."
He vowed the military would keep fighting "until we capture all the terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre and bring all the hostages home".
Some Israelis hailed the news of Sinwar's death as a sign of better things to come.
"I am celebrating the death of Sinwar, who has brought us nothing but harm, who has taken people hostage," said one Israeli woman, Hemda, who only gave her first name.
Attending a Tel Aviv rally demanding the hostages' release, 60-year-old Sisil said his killing presented a "once in a lifetime opportunity" for "a hostage deal to end the war".
But whether the Hamas chief's death will bring the end of the war any closer is unclear.
Warning that the hostages were in "grave danger", Israeli military historian Guy Aviad said Sinwar's killing was "a significant event... but it's not the end of the war".
Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government and international mediators to leverage "this major achievement to secure hostages' return".
According to a statement from Netanyahu's office, Biden called him and congratulated him on Sinwar's assassination, with the two leaders vowing to seize "an opportunity to promote the release of the hostages".
Netanyahu said Palestinian militants should free the hostages if they want to live.
- Final moments -
The Israeli military said Sinwar was killed in a firefight in southern Gaza's Rafah near the Egyptian border, while being tracked by a drone.
It released drone footage of what it said was Sinwar in his final moments, with the video showing a wounded militant throwing an object at the drone.
After pounding Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 attack, Israel sent ground troops into the besieged territory.
With the civilian toll mounting, Israel has faced criticism over its conduct of the war.
In northern Gaza's Jabalia, two hospitals said Israeli air strikes on a school sheltering displaced people killed at least 14 people.
According to a UN-backed assessment, some 345,000 Gazans face "catastrophic" levels of hunger this winter.
Nearly 100 percent of Gaza's population now lives in poverty, the UN's International Labour Organization said, warning that the war's impact on Gaza "will be felt for generations to come".
The nation of Israel has been Occupying Palestine since 1948. Backed by the West, it is determined continue its occupation despite criticisms from the Muslim world.
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