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“You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword” – Leviticus 26:7, tweeted by Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Israel continues to be the tip of the spear of the West’s defense against its enemies in the clash of civilization versus barbarism, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported Thursday that during routine operations in the Gaza Strip, it killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Sinwar was the ruthless architect of last year’s October 7 savage terror attack, and became the overall leader of the Palestinian terror organization Hamas when Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Iran, in late July. As noted in the Horowitz Freedom Center’s comprehensive profile of Sinwar at our essential Discover the Networks site,

Sinwar during the Eighties developed a reputation for being “ruthless and extremist even by Hamas standards,” and “was particularly keen on punishing ‘morality’ offenders and killing Palestinians he suspected of collaborating with Israel.” Indeed, he reportedly killed a number of them with his bare hands.

[…]

In 1988 Israeli authorities arrested Sinwar and sentenced him to four life terms in prison for his terrorist activities against Israel and his role in murdering suspected Palestinian collaborators. At one point during his incarceration, Sinwar was successfully treated for a brain tumor in an Israeli hospital.

In 2011 Sinwar was set free as part of a deal in which Israel exchanged 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in return for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, whom Hamas had been holding captive for more than five years.

[…]

Over the years, Sinwar has cultivated a reputation as a fanatical, uncompromising zealot for the cause of Islamic supremacy and the annihilation of the Jews. For example, the Israeli newspaper Haartez reports that “Palestinians who have met with Sinwar characterize him … as someone who speaks in apocalyptic terms about perpetual war with Israel.” Similarly, the website IsraelStreet.org portrays Sinwar as someone known for his “unpredictable bursts of violence that have caused all of those in Gaza, including Hamas members, to fear him.”

Reports are that the IDF was carrying out an attack this week on a building in Gaza in which three terrorists had taken cover. According to The Times of Israel, it was only when the soldiers discovered a corpse very clearly resembling Sinwar that they realized with a shock that he was one of the dead terrorists (you can find photos of the body circulating on social media). The remains were delivered to Israel, where dental and orthodontic experts confirmed that the body was Sinwar’s, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Breitbart News reports that Sinwar was believed to have been hiding underground, surrounding himself with hostages to prevent Israel from killing him in an airstrike, though there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area where Sinwar was killed. His presence in a building above ground, as well as passports and a large sum of cash found on his body, led to speculation that he might have been trying to leave Gaza. One of the other terrorists found near the body was that of the leader of Hamas’s Khan Yunis brigade; he was known to be close to Sinwar.

Speaking shortly after confirmation of Sinwar’s death, Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu declared that with the terrorist’s elimination, “We have a great opportunity to halt the [Iranian-led] axis of evil and to create a different future. A future of peace, a future of prosperity for the entire region.”

He added, “Now it is clear to everyone in Israel and in the world why we insisted on not ending the war, why we insisted in the face of all the pressures to enter Rafah, the fortified stronghold of Hamas where Sinwar and many of the murderers hid.”

To the families of the hostages who have been held by Hamas for over a year, he said, “This is an important moment in the war. We will continue to work with all our powers to bring home all your loved ones, who are our loved ones. This is our highest commitment. This is my highest commitment.”

To the Hamas terrorists, Netanyahu warned, “your leaders are fleeing and they will be eliminated.” Anyone who lays down their “weapon and returns our hostages” will be allowed to “leave and live.” But “[w]hoever harms our hostages – their blood on his head. We will settle accounts with him.”

To the residents of Gaza, he said, “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny.”

Various other Israeli leaders spoke out on social media about Sinwar’s extermination. Opposition leader Yair Lapid posted on X, saying,

Yahya Sinwar was one of the world’s worst terrorists. He dedicated his life to an evil ideology of hatred and death. He was the embodiment of evil. His name belongs alongside Bin Laden and al-Baghdadi for the terror and misery they reaped on the world. Justice has been done.

Former government spokesperson Eylon Levy wrote on X,

It is possible that somewhere in hell, Yahya Sinwar is sitting with the whole of Hamas’ leadership, looking up and thinking they should have released the hostages when they had the chance.

Israel’s Chargé d’affaires to Spain, Dan Poraz, also commented on X:

The man who brought death and misery to millions, the mass murderer of Jews and Israelis, who destroyed Gaza, who brought disaster to the Palestinians, and refused to end the suffering and free our hostages—this man is dead. Yahya Sinwar is dead. May he forever burn in hell.

From the U.S., Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote,

Iran and its proxies should take note that in a matter of weeks, Israel has decapitated the senior leadership of Hezbollah and Hamas. The world is a safer place because Israel has proven what strong action against global terrorism should look like.

Indeed. Thank God for Israel and for the courage and determination of Bibi Netanyahu. It is the only country actually warring with the enemies of Western civilization, while the rest of the West barely even wrestles with the internal subversion collapsing us from within. America, Europe, and other Western countries, take note: like Israel, we are facing our own struggle for survival, our own clash of good versus evil. Like Israel, find the courage, the determination, and the leadership to root out our enemies and claim victory once and for all.

Follow Mark Tapson at Culture Warrior