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 — an effective occupation that raises the possibility of months or even years of continued fighting.

Despite hopes of a ceasefire, Sinwar’s death could dial up hostilities in the Middle East, where the prospect of an even wider conflict has grown.

Earlier 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 cross-border fire.

Sinwar has 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 assassinated in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

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

President Biden said Sinwar’s death opens the way for “a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.” He said he would talk with Netanyahu “to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all.”

Sinwar has 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 assassinated in an Israeli strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

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

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

Israel military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that 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 ($10,707).

Some of Sinwar’s DNA had previously been found in tunnels near where troops found the bodies of six hostages at the end of August, Hagari said.

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.

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

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,” Umm Mohammed told the Associated Press.

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, told the AP Hamas would be able to replace him.

“After the leader, a thousand leaders will come,” he said. “After the man, a thousand men will come.”