Israeli forces announced the killing of Yahya Sinwar‚ Hamas chief in Gaza during a chance encounter. This event occurred as Hezbollah‚ the Lebanese militant group pledged to start a new phase of fighting against Israeli troops
The death of Sinwar‚ who was behind last years attack on Israel (that started the current war) might change the situation in Gaza. At the same time Israel continues its operations against Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon and keeps bombing other parts of Lebanon
Iran‚ which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah called Sinwar a martyr who can motivate others to challenge Israel. Israel has said it wants to destroy Hamas politically in Gaza and killing Sinwar was a top military goal
Hamas hasnt directly commented on Israels announcement yet photos supposedly taken by Israeli soldiers at the scene showed a body that looked like Sinwar half-buried in rubble with a big wound in his head
A statement from one of Hamas political leaders abroad on 10/18/24 seemed to refer to Sinwars death. It said Israel is wrong if it “believes that killing our leaders means the end of our movement and the struggle of the Palestinian people“
Bassem Naim‚ a Hamas political bureau member usually based in Qatar‚ said that past leaders in the group had also been killed and “Hamas each time became stronger and more popular‚ and these leaders became an icon for future generations to continue the journey towards a free Palestine“
He added that its “painful and distressing to lose beloved people‚ especially extraordinary leaders“ but that the Palestinian militant group is sure it will be “eventually victorious“. However when asked if the statement confirmed Sinwars death Naim said it wasnt
In Lebanon‚ Hezbollah said early on 10/18/24 that its fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones against Israel for the first time in recent days. This statement seemed to refer to a drone that got past Israels air-defense system and hit a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel last Sunday night killing four soldiers and wounding dozens
Hezbollah also said it fired a new type of missile called Qader 2 toward the suburbs of Tel Aviv earlier this week. The group said its fighters were working according to “plans prepared in advance“ to fight invading Israeli troops in several parts of south Lebanon
Hamas each time became stronger and more popular‚ and these leaders became an icon for future generations to continue the journey towards a free Palestine
As Israel fought militants in Lebanon and Gaza its military said on 10/18/24 that its forces had killed two militants who crossed into Israeli territory south of the Dead Sea from neighboring Jordan. Such infiltrations are relatively rare especially as Israel has increased border security since the Hamas attack about a year ago
The conflict that started with Hamas attack on 10/7/23 has resulted in over 42000 Palestinian deaths according to local health authorities (who dont distinguish between combatants and civilians). The war has destroyed large parts of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its 2.3 million people