Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed, Israel says

In today’s newsletter:

• Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza

• Massive Chinese military drills fuel alarm in Taiwan

• Gambling hub Macau’s new Beijing-backed leader

Good morning. Israel said yesterday it had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of last year’s October 7 attack which triggered the deadliest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Sinwar’s death is a pivotal moment in the year of fighting, delivering a severe blow to the Palestinian militant group and a symbolic victory to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israel Defense Forces said Sinwar had been killed on Wednesday by soldiers from its southern command in the south of the Gaza Strip, without giving further details. Hamas did not immediately confirm Sinwar’s death.

Netanyahu hailed Sinwar’s death as a “victory of good over evil” and “the beginning of the day after Hamas” rule in Gaza, adding those militants still holding Israeli hostages in the enclave now had an opportunity to release them and be allowed to live.

The IDF, outlining how Sinwar was located and killed, said he was spotted by chance on Wednesday by its forces. Here’s what happened during the pursuit of the Hamas leader.

• ‘Dead man walking’: After more than a year, the relentless search for Yahya Sinwar, Israel’s most wanted man, finally ended in a bombed-out building in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: China announces third-quarter GDP along with the September house price index and retail sales. Japan releases its September inflation data.

• UK-China relations: UK foreign secretary David Lammy meets his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing. Lammy will raise concerns over human rights and China’s support for Russia, according to people familiar with his plans.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. China’s show of force around Taiwan in a day of massive military exercises has fuelled alarm in Taipei. A senior Taiwanese national security official called for other democracies to push back harder against Beijing after China deployed a record number of warplanes around Taiwan on Monday.

2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he has intelligence reports that 10,000 North Korean soldiers are preparing to enter the war on the side of Russia. The White House said yesterday it could not independently confirm the reports, but National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby described them as “concerning”.

3. Alimentation Couche-Tard’s proposed $47bn buyout of Seven & i is a better deal and less risky than its target’s break-up plan, the Canadian retailer’s chief said in Tokyo as he urged the Japanese group to start talks. Couche-Tard executives are in Japan to try to move their offer forward, and said they wanted the chance to discuss their bid with government officials who would have to review any deal.

4. China plans to almost double credit support for a selected group of housing projects to Rmb4tn ($562bn) as part of official efforts to reinvigorate its property sector and turn around the economy. China’s housing minister said the new funds should be deployed by the end of the year. Learn more about the so-called whitelist of projects that are eligible to receive financing.

5. Meta has fired about two dozen staff in Los Angeles for using their $25 meal credits to buy household items including acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent. The terminations took place last week, just days before the social media company separately began restructuring certain teams across WhatsApp, Instagram and Reality Labs, its augmented and virtual reality arm.

News in-depth

The next leader of gambling hub Macau is a Beijing-backed former top judge who has previously warned against the “wild” expansion of the gaming sector. Sam Hou Fai was elected unopposed on Sunday by a selection committee stacked with pro-Beijing politicians and businesspeople. Analysts said the territory’s gambling sector is set to come under further pressure from China when Sam takes office in December.

We’re also reading . . . 

Chart of the day

Artificial intelligence is being marshalled in multiple fields to alleviate problems in some of the world’s poorest countries — in Zambia to help improve medical diagnostics, in Kenya to enable farmers to identify crop disease and in Ethiopia to tailor education materials to pupils’ needs. But some fear the technological rush will deepen a digital divide.

Take a break from the news

Italian fashion group Prada and the US aerospace start-up Axiom Space yesterday unveiled the spacesuits that will take astronauts to the Moon on Nasa’s upcoming Artemis III mission. Here’s more on the not-very-fashionable but highly engineered 200kg-plus gender-neutral white extravehicular mobility unit spacesuit.

Additional contributions from Gordon Smith and Irwin Cruz