‘OUR ENEMIES CANNOT HIDE’ — Moments ago, the Israel Defense Force confirmed it has killed top Hamas leader YAHYA SINWAR, the lead architect of the Oct. 7 attack and the No. 1 target of its yearlong campaign in Gaza. Details of Sinwar’s death, which has not been confirmed by Hamas, remain sketchy, but he appears to have been killed in an operation in southern Gaza that was not specifically targeting him. As details trickled out this morning and authorities worked to confirm Sinwar’s killing, top Israeli officials struck a tone of grave determination. Defense Minister YOAV GALLANT posted an image with X-ed out photos of Hamas political leader ISMAIL HANIYEH and Hezbollah chief HASSAN NASRALLAH — both killed in previous Israeli operations — as he quoted Leviticus: ‘You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword.” “Our enemies cannot hide,” he added. “We will pursue and eliminate them.” Sinwar’s killing is an obvious triumph for Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU a year after he and his government were caught by surprise by Hamas’ audacious and murderous attack. What is wholly unclear is what effect, if any, Sinwar’s death will have on the future of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, let alone on the newly emerging front against Hezbollah in Lebanon. One immediate question … “Former head of the Israeli security agency SHIN BET YA’AKOV PERI told POLITICO that the big worry now is ‘where are the hostages?’ … Israeli officials are worried that in the wake of Sinwar’s elimination, Hamas fighters to avenge his death by killing captives still held in the enclave,” Erin Banco, Jamie Dettmer and Elena Giordano report. But Sinwar’s death “could significantly disrupt Hamas operations and advance Israel’s strategic goal of eliminating Hamas as a military threat.” How it happened … “Sinwar was in a building in Rafah in the southern portion of the coastal enclave and was found coincidentally, one of the Israeli officials said. … IDF soldiers engaged in a firefight with Hamas fighters near the building and Sinwar was found inside with several other Hamas commanders.” Looking ahead … U.S. officials are now scrambling to figure out who will replace him, CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis reports: “US officials have long hoped that killing Sinwar would give Israel the political opening that it needed to agree to a ceasefire.” But who succeeds him “could have a profound impact on whether Hamas will be willing to restart meaningful negotiations with Israel for a halt to the fighting and the release of hostages.” On the homefront … President JOE BIDEN was briefed on the developments on Air Force One en route to Germany, per the AP. Sinwar’s death is likely to “rise to the forefront of discussions” between Biden and his European counterparts during their scheduled meeting tomorrow, CNN’s Kayla Tausche reports . Back in Washington, celebratory statements have started trickling in from lawmakers of both parties. “Sinwar’s life was the embodiment of evil and marked by hatred for all that is good in the world,” Speaker MIKE JOHNSON said. “His death brings hope for all those who seek to live in freedom, and relief to Israelis he has sought to oppress.” But he added that “the Biden-Harris Administration must now work in tandem with Israel to apply a maximum pressure campaign against the head of the snake: Iran. … We cannot let this moment go to waste.” SECRET SERVICE IN HOT WATER — An independent panel commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security delivered a withering assessment of the Secret Service in a new 51-page report assessing the agency’s performance surrounding the July 13 assassination attempt of DONALD TRUMP. The four former officials who drafted the report echoed many of the findings found in other assessments, from Congress and from the agency itself, where massive failures in communication allowed gunman THOMAS CROOKS to get off eight shots into the crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania. But they went much further in their recommendations to completely overhaul the agency, warning of potential disaster in a letter to DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS should changes not be made: “[T]he Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission. Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again,” they wrote. More from Betsy Woodruff Swan Among the recommendations: Scaling back the agency’s historic “non-protective” operations, including its longstanding role in investigating financial crimes, “so that it can provide its protective mission with all resources required.” They also emphasized the agency usher in a “fresh perspective” by hiring new leadership that comes “from outside the Service rather than internal promotion.” Panelist and former DHS Secretary JANET NAPOLITANO described the agency as “stale” in an interview with NYT’s Eileen Sullivan: “It is time for the service to kind of break out and to reach out beyond its own agency to bring in talent that can really take a fresh look at what it is they do, and how they do it.” PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN — “Inside the Secretive $700 Million Ad-Testing Factory for Kamala Harris,” by NYT’s Theodore Schleifer and Shane Goldmacher: “\Future Forward officials have advised Democrats that more broadly focused ads often prove most effective, and the group’s roughly $450 million in advertising decisions reflects that belief. It’s a big bet, and the sheer volume of spending means that Future Forward will receive at least some credit if [KAMALA] HARRIS.wins — and blame if she loses.” Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.
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