The Israeli military says it killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a military operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Sinwar has been called the architect of the attacks on Israel that killed 12-hundred people on October 7, 2023.

The Israel Defense Forces(IDF) announced in a statement on Thursday that Sinwar was killed Wednesday after a yearlong pursuit by Israeli authorities. 

The statement said IDF soldiers of the 828th Brigade operating in the southern Gaza Strip had “identified and eliminated three terrorists” and later confirmed that Sinwar was one of them. 

Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz also confirmed the news Thursday in a statement, calling it a “great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the evil axis of radical Islam led by Iran.”