Not a top secret operation, Israel's killing of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was a 'surprise encounter'

Sinwar, who was called "dead man walking" by Israel, was a prized target of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for many months.

Israel has dealt another body blow to Hamas after confirming that it eliminated the group's chief Yahya Sinwar — mastermind of the October 7 cross-border massacre — in a recent operation by its forces.

Sinwar, who was called "dead man walking" by Israel, was a prized target of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for many months.

Unlike Israel's recent missions to take out high-ranking Hamas and Hezbollah leaders — which involved meticulous planning over weeks or months — the killing of Sinwar was rather sudden and unplanned.

The year-long search for the Hamas chief came to an unexpected end on Wednesday in Rafah, southern Gaza.

Israeli troops were patrolling the area as part of a routine military operation when they came under fire from a nearby building, CNN reported, quoting two Israeli sources.

Raw footage of Yahya Sinwars last moments: pic.twitter.com/GJGDlu7bie

LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) October 17, 2024

The troops retaliated to the fire with a tank and then flew a drone into the heavily damaged building.

IDF even shared the video later, in which a man can be seen slumped on a chair and covered in dust and rubble. He looks directly at the camera and throws a stick at the drone, before the video ends.

The man was later identified as Sinwar himself.

The had soldiers stormed the building after the dust cleared and found the body they saw in the drone footage. They realized that it bore a striking resemblance to Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas.

They didn’t move the body for fear of booby traps and instead removed a part of the finger and sent it to Israel for testing, a BBC report said.

Later, Israeli authorities confirmed that it was Sinwar after using dental records and fingerprints.

His DNA was also tested for confirmation, The New York Times reported, quoting an Israeli official and the White House.

The killing of Sinwar marks a major success for Israel and a milestone in the yearlong conflict.

Netanyahu called Sinwar's killing a milestone late on Thursday but vowed to keep up the war, which in recent weeks expanded from fighting against Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza into an invasion of southern Lebanon and the bombardment of large swathes of the country.

"The war, my dear ones, is not yet over," Netanyahu told Israelis, saying fighting would continue until hostages held by Hamas are released.