Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was the “beginning of the end” of the bombardment in Gaza, AFP reports.

Netanyahu, speaking in Jerusalem just after the death was confirmed, said Sinwar's death offered the chance of peace in the Middle East, but warned that the war in Gaza was not over and Israel would continue until its hostages were returned.

"Today we have settled the score. Today evil has been dealt a blow but our task has still not been completed," Netanyahu said in a recorded video statement. "To the dear hostage families, I say: This is an important moment in the war. We will continue full force until all your loved ones, our loved ones, are home."

“Yahya Sinwar is dead. He was killed in Rafah by the brave soldiers of the Israel Defence Forces,” Netanyahu said in an English language video statement released by his office.

“While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it’s the beginning of the end. “

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said: "This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel."

He called Sinwar a "mass murderer who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of Oct. 7" - the Hamas-led attack on Israel that unleashed the assault on Gaza.

The head of Israel's military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said Israel's pursuit of Sinwar over the past year had driven him "to act like a fugitive, causing him to change locations multiple times."

He said soldiers had come upon Sinwar during a regular operation without knowing he was there, unlike other operations against militant leaders based on comprehensive intelligence.