Israeli forces killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a major blow to the Iran-aligned group and a possible boon to flagging peace efforts.
"Today we have settled the score. Today evil has been dealt a blow but our task has still not been completed," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
"To the dear hostage families, I say: this is an important moment in the war. We will continue full force until all your loved ones, our loved ones, are home," he added.
The Israeli military released drone footage it said showed the last moments of militant boss, caked in dust in a bombed-out house apparently severely wounded and attempting to throw a projectile at the camera.
Unverified graphic footage circulating on social media appeared to show a corpse roughly resembling Sinwar in a military tactical vest and headscarf with distinctive crooked teeth.
Israeli authorities said DNA and dental records analysis gleaned from the site and matched to records from Sinwar's over 20 years in Israeli prisons proved his identity.
Hamas has yet to confirm his death.
President Joe Biden said US intelligence had aided Israel to locate senior Hamas leaders, calling it a "good day".
Israel has had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas. Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7," Biden said in a statement.
"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," he added.
Sinwar was the architect of the October 7, 2023 attacks which killed around 1,100 Israelis - most of them civilians - and ensnared scores of hostages in a shock to Israeli security which has brought the region close to all-out war.
Iran's other armed allies in the region including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen joined the fight against Israel and the Islamic Republic itself has twice launched missile fusillades against the Jewish State.
The latest, on Oct.1, killed no Israelis and was repelled with US and Western aid. Israel has promised unspecified retaliation.
Sinwar succeeded Ismail Haniyeh - who was killed in a likely Israeli bombing of his guesthouse in Tehran in August - as the head of the group's political bureau, making him its highest ranking leader and de facto chief.
Iran's Supreme Leader this month blessed that attack as a justified act of resistance and emphasized the Islamic Republic's support for armed allies in the region like Hamas which have been confronting Israel for over a year.
US officials cited by domestic media outlets have pointed to hardline positions adopted by Sinwar as well as by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as obstacles to a negotiated ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.
More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel's offensive so far according to Gaza's health authorities, including 28 people in an Israeli strike on a shelter in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Iran connection
Sinwar played a pivotal role in building Hamas’s strategic alliance with Iran, according to Israeli and Western military analysts and officials.
The bloody crackdown by Iran's ally Syria starting in 2011 on militias and dissidents linked to the Muslim Brotherhood - the ideological movement from which Hamas hails - dented relation with Tehran which Sinwar helped repair.
Sinwar traveled to Iran on notable visit in 2012 in which he was photographed as part of a Hamas delegation in an audience with Khamenei and after which Hamas-Iran ties improved.
In footage released following Haniyeh's assassination, Khamenei's office depicted the slain leader introducing Sinwar as a veteran of Israel's prisons.
Iran’s assistance, frequently cited by Sinwar, was instrumental in building Hamas’s military strength.
In a speech the same year, Sinwar confirmed that Qassem Soleimani, the late senior Iranian paramilitary general, had reached out to Hamas's leadership and offered all means at Iran's disposal to aid their cause.
The October 7 attack was a culmination of Hamas’ evolution under Sinwar’s guidance from an organization viewed by Israel as preoccupied with administering Gaza to a fearsome attacker dedicated to altering the security balance in the region.
Those enhanced capabilities enabled by its alliance with Iran were on display as Hamas fighters launched a complex attack by land, air and sea while overrunning military installations with the aid of drones.
In a televised speech on Thursday, Hossein Salami warned: “We tell you [Israel] that if you commit any aggression against any point, we will painfully attack the same point of yours."
He dismissed the deployment of the US-provided THAAD missile defense system this week, sent in preparation for any possible Iranian retaliation in the tit-for-tat aggression.
The US also deployed 100 troops in preparation for the escalation, President Joe Biden standing by the country's regional ally.
“Do not trust the THAAD,” Salami added, adding, “You cannot commit genocide and remain safe", referring to Israel's ongoing war against Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas following the October 7 attack, in which over 1,000 Israeli civilians were killed. In the aftermath, Hamas claims that around 42,000 Palestinians have been killed, while Israel asserts that at least 16,000 of those casualties were Hamas operatives.
Tensions between Israel and Iran have been running high since October 1, when Iran launched 181 ballistic missiles towards Israel in response to Israel's killing of the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
While Israel’s air defenses intercepted most of the missiles, several struck targets including military and civilian sites, causing minor damage.
Rasoul Sanaei Rad, the political deputy of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office, downplayed the US efforts to support Israel. On Thursday, he referred to the THAAD deployment as “a show and propaganda to boost the morale of the Israelis, who are in a state of panic.”
The Israeli government has vowed to respond to Iran’s missile strike, continuing its military operations in neighboring Lebanon and Gaza, where it has been targeting the leadership of Iran's proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas.
Syrian state media reported on Thursday that Israeli jets targeted the port city of Latakia in the early morning, while US forces carried out multiple strikes against military infrastructure belonging to Iran's Yemeni proxy, the Houthis.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s visit to Egypt on Wednesday, part of a Middle Eastern tour, marking the first high-level Iranian diplomatic visit to Cairo in almost 12 years. The most recent visit to Egypt took place in January 2013, when then-Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi visited Cairo during an African tour.
He met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Thursday. Sisi reiterated Egypt’s call to prevent the conflict from expanding, stressing the need to avoid escalation, as reported by the Egyptian presidency.
Araqchi’s visit follows stops in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, and Lebanon. He also met with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, on Thursday.
While relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, the two nations have increased high-level diplomatic engagement since last year’s Gaza crisis. Egypt, which sits on Gaza's border, is one of the mediators between Hamas and Israel, along with the US and Qatar.
The joint statement, issued on Wednesday during the first EU-GCC summit in Brussels, urges Iran to end its control of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after it gained independence following Britain's withdrawal.
"We call on Iran to end its occupation of the three islands of the United Arab Emirates, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, which constitutes a violation of the sovereignty of the UAE and the principles of the Charter of the UN," the statement read.
Iran quickly dismissed the accusations. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, took to social media, condemning the joint EU-GCC statement. “The three islands have always belonged to Iran and will forever remain as such. Era of European malign 'divide & rule' interference in our region is long over,” Araghchi posted on X.
Iran asserts that the islands have always been part of its territory, maintaining that it has never relinquished ownership. On the other hand, the UAE contends that the islands were under the control of the Qasimi sheikhs throughout the 19th century, with these rights subsequently passing to the UAE in 1971.
The islands were placed under British control in 1921, but on November 30, 1971, just one day after British forces withdrew and two days before the UAE officially became a federation, Iran's then-monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah, dispatched the Iranian navy to seize control of all three islands. Iranian forces remain stationed there to this day, with Abu Musa being the only island with a civilian population, numbering fewer than two thousand.
Arab nations have frequently voiced support for the UAE's claims, but the EU’s backing of this stance marks a significant shift in European policy. The statement aligns with growing international pressure on Iran with sanctions being imposed globally for its ongoing nuclear program, rights abuses at home and ongoing support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also rejected the EU-GCC claims. “This is a clear indication of the member states' lack of commitment to the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter, especially the principle of respect for national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of states,” Baghaei said.
Tensions over the islands have been exacerbated by international interventions. In June, China supported the UAE’s claims during a meeting with Emirati officials, prompting a rebuke from Tehran. Similarly, Russia’s backing of the UAE in December drew an angry response from Iranian authorities.
The joint EU-GCC statement also emphasized the broader security concerns linked to Iran’s regional actions with its proxies currently engaged in a joint front against Israel as well as enacting a blockade on global shipping.
The statement called for Iran to halt its advancing nuclear program, which has raised alarms over potential weaponization, and demanded a cessation of missile and drone production, citing threats to regional and international peace. "We stress the importance of ensuring the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program," the statement read.
Additionally, the statement underscored the need for Iran to comply with international obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Both the GCC and the EU expressed disappointment over the progress of Iran's nuclear program in the last five years.
“We regret that Iran’s unabated nuclear advances over the last five years have made a return to the JCPOA increasingly difficult,” the statement added, further urging Tehran to pursue regional de-escalation and non-interference in neighboring countries’ internal affairs.
This year, the head of the UN's nuclear program, Rafael Grossi, warned Iran is "weeks not months" away from a nuclear weapon, as Tehran has barred a third of their nuclear inspectors.