Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was killed during a gun battle in southern Gaza on October 16 by Israeli troops, who were initially unaware that they had caught their country's number one enemy, Israeli officials have confirmed.
Intelligence services had been searching for Sinwar for months and had been gradually restricting the area where he could operate, the military said on October 17, after dental records, fingerprints, and DNA testing provided final confirmation of Sinwar's death.
Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, IDF’s international spokesperson, confirmed the death of Sinwar and shared raw footage of the slain leader’s last moments on October 17.
The military released footage from a mini drone that it said showed Sinwar, badly wounded in the hand, sitting on a chair, his face covered in a scarf. The video shows the Hamas leader flinging a stick towards an approaching drone, with his right arm appearing severely injured.
At this stage, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, Sinwar was only identified as a fighter, but troops entered and found him with a weapon, a flak jacket, and 40,000 shekels ($10,731.63).
Sinwar became a key figure in Hamas following the assassination of former Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran on July 31. Sinwar, born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, rose through the ranks of Hamas, becoming a prominent leader responsible for internal security and military operations. Known for his ruthless approach, he gained a reputation for targeting those perceived as collaborators with Israel, playing a critical role in Hamas’ strategic planning.
Sinwar became a member of Hamas soon after its founding in the 1980s, adopting the group's radical Islamist ideology, which seeks to establish an Islamic state in historic Palestine and opposes Israel's existence.
Half a dozen people who know Sinwar, as cited by Reuters, have stated that his resolve was shaped by an impoverished childhood in Gaza's refugee camps and a brutal 22 years in Israeli custody, including a period in Ashkelon, the town his parents called home before fleeing after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned that despite Sinwar's death, the conflict in Gaza is far from over. Netanyahu called on Hamas fighters to lay down their weapons and return Israeli hostages, suggesting they reconsider their actions as a potential way to survive amid the ongoing war.
(With inputs from agencies)
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