Author of October 7 attack, Hamas leader Yahyah Sinwar confirmed killed in Rafah
CAUTION: GRAPHIC IMAGES
Hamas leader Yahyah Sinwar, the man said to have been the mastermind behind the October 7 attack on Israel, has reportedly been killed during a gunfight with Israeli armed forces in Gaza on Wednesday.
In a statement this morning, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they were "checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yayah Sinwar.” They further claimed that he was one of three fighters killed in the clash. “In the building where the terrorists were eliminated there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area.”
In images posted online, the remains of a man that resembles Sinwar can be seen in combat gear,with deep gashes to his head and knee, amid the rubble of an imploded building.
Axios cited the Israeli police as saying “its forensics team has identified Sinwar's body [from] pictures of his teeth taken by soldiers on the ground that were compared to photos of his teeth Israel has. DNA test is still ongoing,” while Israeli Army Radio was quoted as saying that Sinwar was in military uniform when he was killed.
In a summary of the latest developments, Dropsite News reported that:
IDF and Shin Bet told Axios the incident occurred on Wednesday night local time in the southern Gaza Strip.
During a routine patrol, IDF soldiers encountered three armed men, resulting in an exchange of fire and the deaths of the armed men.
One body resembles Hamas leader Sinwar, but his identity has not been confirmed.
The incident was deemed coincidental and not based on prior intelligence.
The IDF and Shin Bet are identifying the bodies and confirmed there were no hostages involved.
Israeli officials are awaiting DNA and fingerprint verification, since they have Sinwar’s DNA and fingerprints from his time in prison.
Unverified reports had it that he was killed alongside his brother and a bodyguard after the building they were in was shelled during the fight.
Although the IDF have not yet at the time of writing officially confirmed Sinwar’s death, it is understood that the Israeli government has informed Washington of the latest developments. Defense minister Yoav Gallant posted a statement that seemingly confirmed the news, saying: “We will reach every terrorist - and eliminate him.”
The death of Sinwar raises questions about the fate of the over 100 Israeli hostages. According to Axios reporter Barak David, “A spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister said Netanyahu asked the IDF to inform the families of the hostages that there were no signs that any hostages were harmed in the incident in Gaza.”
The killing of Sinwar also puts a question-mark over the future course of Israel’s war on Gaza, now that it has eliminated the principal leaders and negotiators of Hamas.
Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum said it was unclear who would replace Sinwar, because “the vast majority of Hamas’military council and leaders were assassinated… Top figures in the Hamas military organisation were eliminated.”
The 62-year old Sinwar was appointed leader of Hamas following the assassination by missile strike of Ismael Haniyeh, the chairman of Hamas’politburo by Israel in May while he was in Tehran for the inauguration of the newly elected Iranian president.
A hardened resistance fighter, Sinwar had spent some 22 years in Israeli jails for his alleged role in the “abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians he considered to be collaborators in 1989.”
Born in Khan Yunis refugee camp in 1962 into a family of refugees expelled from Ashkelon during the 1948 War, Sinwar earned a Bachelor's degree in Arabic Studies from the Islamic University of Gaza. After his release from prison, he was elected as the leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017, and is said to have initially sought ways of peaceful resistance, such as'the 2018–2019 border protests, in which 223 protesters in Gaza were killed, including 46 children, and 9,204 injured.
Palestinian scholar Nour Zeidan noted that “Yahya Sinwar was found above ground, he was not hiding in a tunnel or among civilians; instead, he was with his fighters at the front line. Our martyrs are not our weakness or shame, they are our pride and strength. Our liberation and resistance continues.”
UPDATE at 19h09: Israeli Foreign Minister Katz and the IDF confirmed in the last few minutes that Sinwar was indeed killed on Wednesday.