NEW DETAILS HAVE emerged about how Israeli soldiers killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Wednesday.
Sinwar, who was the chief architect of the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in its history, was killed during an operation in Gaza on Wednesday.
Israel’s military yesterday and Hamas today confirmed the death of the militia’s leader.
Images of Sinwar’s body have been circulated online and in local media. The Israeli military has also shared images and footage of the incident, including a chilling video of Sinwar’s last moments.
Since then more details have been revealed – by the Israeli military and in local media that indicate the assassination of Israel’s most-wanted individual happened as a result of a chance encounter.
The IDF confirmed that soldiers in southern Gaza, reportedly on the ground in the city of Rafah, had been informed by the internal security services that three senior members of Hamas were present on the front line.
Neither the intelligence service or the soldiers on the ground were aware that Sinwar was among the senior members that were identified, according to the Israeli military, and the troops were not in Rafah to conduct an assassination operation.
Soldiers had been operating in the city of Rafah for months, despite orders from the International Court of Justice to “immediately halt” its actions because Israel had told displaced Palestinians to seek refuge there.
Thousands of civilians have since fled the city – which has been largely turned to rubble.
Sinwar was born in a refugee camp in southern Gaza, joined Hamas in 1987 and set up the group’s merciless internal security apparatus.
He was the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks last year, that killed 1,205 people in Israel, most of them civilians.
Israel’s retaliatory attacks on Gaza have killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have voiced their opposition of the retaliatory attacks, labelling them a ‘war against the population of Gaza’.
On Wednesday morning, 16 October, Israeli soldiers had identified a man matching Sinwar’s description at an apartment building in the city alongside two other men.
The Times of Israel has reported that at 10am on Wednesday morning, Israeli troops opened fire on the building which caused Sinwar and the two other men to flee. Sinwar reportedly went to a separate building by himself.
Tanks and troops opened fired on the building Sinwar fled to and the Hamas leader ran up to the second floor of the building. It is believed that Sinwar’s arm was severed as a result of this blast, sources have told the newspaper.
The BBC’s Digital Investigation Team has reported a similar account of these events. A video posted by the Israeli military does appear to show that Sinwar was heavily injured.
Soldiers approached the building where Sinwar reportedly threw a grenade towards the troops, according to The Times of Israel. The battalion then used a drone to locate the man inside the building.
Footage from the drone has been shared by the Israeli military and claims that a man, who can be seen in the video covered in soot, heavily injured and wearing a face covering, is Sinwar.
The drone approaches the man who then throws an object at it with his left arm, his right arm partially severed.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military has said that the footage is of Sinwar’s “last moments”. A third and final tank shell was then fired at the building, when Sinwar was killed.
Soldiers did not know that they had killed the leader of Hamas at that moment and put out a statement yesterday afternoon confirming that it was investigating the identity of a man the military believed to be Sinwar.
According to outlets Ynet and i24News, dental records were used to identify the man. Many other reports, including from the BBC, have said that Sinwar’s finger was cut off and brought hastily towards Israel during the efforts to identify him.
A group of Israeli military leaders also began making their way to the site at this time. Images shared on social media, including by the Israeli media and military, appear to show Sinwar lying under rubble after he was killed.
Approximately two hours later, the Israeli foreign minister had confirmed the Hamas leader has been killed. The militant group has yet to confirm the death.
A statement to the AFP news agency this morning said the group remains steadfast to gain “freedom and dignity” for Palestinians. A follow up statement confirmed the death of its leader.
The Israeli military’s Chief of Staff – despite hopes that Sinwar’s death will lead to a ceasefire – said yesterday: “We will not stop until we catch all the terrorists who were involved in [7 October] and return all the hostages home.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say