“His death is a significant moment and can be a vital turning point in this devastating conflict,” Albanese posted on social media platform X.

But eliminating Sinwar may not end the devastating war, during which Israel has destroyed much of the Gaza Strip and killed more than 42,000 Palestinians. The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says more than half of those killed were women and children.

Sinwar’s death is a crippling blow to Hamas, but the group, which receives support from Iran, has proven resilient to past losses of leaders. Hamas has still not responded to the Israeli announcement, but Iran released a statement commemorating the terrorist leader via its mission to the United Nations.

“The spirit of resistance will be strengthened” following the death of Sinwar, Iran’s mission to the UN said.

Hezbollah was also defiant, announcing “the transition to a new and escalating phase in the confrontation with Israel”.

Netanyahu has said Israel will keep fighting until all the hostages are free, and that it will keep control over Gaza long enough to ensure Hamas does not rearm, in an effective occupation that raises the possibility of months or even years of continued fighting.

This month Israel opened a new front in its war with Hezbollah, stepping up bombardment in Lebanon and launching a ground campaign against the Iran-backed militia after a year of trading fire across the border.

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In his speech about Sinwar’s death, Netanyahu said: “Our war is not yet ended.”

Sinwar had been Hamas’ leader inside the Gaza Strip for years. He was elevated to the group’s top leadership position in July after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

In the past months, Israeli airstrikes have eliminated a string of senior figures from Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel has claimed to have killed the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, but Hamas has said he survived.

But in Sinwar’s case, Israeli troops found him by chance.

Israel military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces identified three Hamas militants running from building to building in Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah. The troops attempted to shoot them before they ran inside a building.

The Israeli military released drone video showing what it said were Sinwar’s last moments: In a room wrecked by shelling, a man sat in a chair, his face covered with a cloth, possibly to hide his identity. The video showed the man, with one wounded hand, throwing a stick at the drone.

The military then fired an additional shell at the building, causing it to collapse and killing Sinwar, Hagari said. He said Sinwar was found with a bulletproof vest, grenades and 40,000 shekels ($16,000).

Some of Sinwar’s DNA was previously found in tunnels near where troops found the bodies of six hostages at the end of August, Hagari said. The military believes weeks of searches in the area had pushed Sinwar to come out of hiding.

Photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling Sinwar with a gaping head wound, dressed in a military-style vest, half buried in the rubble of a destroyed building. A security official confirmed the photos were taken by Israeli security officials at the scene. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The Israeli military said three militants were killed in the operation. Police said one of them was confirmed as Sinwar by dental records, fingerprints and DNA tests. Sinwar was imprisoned by Israel from the late 1980s until 2011, and during that time he underwent treatment for brain cancer, which left Israeli authorities with extensive medical records.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant addressed Hamas fighters, saying it “is time to go out, release the hostages, raise your hands, surrender”.

Netanyahu said Israel had “settled its account” with the man behind the October 7, 2023 attack, and that “evil has suffered a heavy blow”. But, he added, “the task before us is not yet complete”.

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He said anyone in Hamas who surrendered weapons and assisted with the return of the hostages would be allowed to leave Gaza safely. About a third of the captives still in Gaza are believed to be dead.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Tel Aviv for the release of the hostages after news emerged of Sinwar’s death. Some carried signs that read “Sinwar’s end, end the war”.

Ifat Kalderon, whose cousin Ofer Kalderon is being held hostage in Gaza, said he was happy that Sinwar was dead but “scared about the 101 hostages ... They might murder them or do something because of the murder of Sinwar.”

In the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, one Palestinian woman displaced from her home in the north said she hoped Sinwar’s death would bring an end to Israel’s campaign. “What more goals do they have than that? Enough. We want to go back,” said the woman, Umm Mohammed.

Some praised Sinwar as a symbol of resistance against Israel’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinians in the West Bank. Ahmed Hamdouna, who also fled his home in northern Gaza, said Hamas would be able to replace him. “After the leader, a thousand leaders will come. After the man, a thousand men will come,” he said.

For more than a week. Israeli forces have been waging a ground campaign in Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, saying they are battling Hamas fighters who have regrouped there.

On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabaliya, killing at least 28 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Fares Abu Hamza, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency unit in the north, said the dead included a woman and four children.

The Israeli military said it targeted a command centre run by Hamas and militant group Palestine Islamic Jihad inside the school. The military provided a list of about a dozen names of people it identified as militants who were present when the strike was called in. It was not immediately possible to verify the names.

Israel has repeatedly struck tent camps and schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza. The Israeli military says it carries out precise strikes on militants and tries to avoid harming civilians, but its strikes often kill women and children.

Reuters, AP