JERUSALEM, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday following the Israeli military's claim of the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that Hamas will no longer rule Gaza.
"The person who committed the most terrible massacre in the history of our nation since the Holocaust was eliminated today," Netanyahu said in a video statement. "Hamas will no longer rule Gaza."
Addressing those who hold the Israeli hostages in Gaza, he said that "whoever lays down his arms and returns them, we will allow him to leave and live, and whoever harms them, his blood be on his own head."
Netanyahu also called on the peoples of the region to "stop the axis of evil and create a different future of peace and prosperity in the entire region."
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media platform X that "the elimination of Sinwar is a clear message to the families of the fallen soldiers and the abductees that we are doing everything and will continue to do it."
The Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency jointly confirmed Thursday that Hamas leader Sinwar was killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday.
Hamas has not confirmed Sinwar's death. ■
