Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Israeli shootout
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed on Wednesday. The Israeli army has revealed details of the operation, confirming that Sinwar died in a shootout. Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces, admitted that although the Hamas leader had been pursued for a long time, the soldiers did not initially know who they were shooting at.
As Hagari explained, Israeli soldiers were searching the area of the Tel al-Sultan refugee camp near the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. They had received information that senior Hamas commanders were hiding there.
They observed three militants moving between buildings and opened fire. Sinwar sought refuge in the ruins of one of the houses.
"He tried to escape and our forces eliminated him," added Hagari. The Israeli army released footage from a drone that located Sinwar. It shows a masked, wounded man attempting to dislodge the drone by throwing a long object at it.
Reports suggest the building was also shelled by a tank.
Identified by teeth and DNA
Sinwar was initially identified as a Hamas militant; a weapon, bulletproof vest, and 40,000 shekels in cash (approximately £8,700) were found near his body, said Hagari. Media reports stated that the deceased's identity was confirmed through dental and DNA tests, using documentation from when Sinwar was imprisoned in an Israeli jail.
The death of the Hamas leader was not the result of a planned and targeted attack, unlike many organisation leaders, such as the military wing commander Mohammed Deif, who was killed in an air raid on 13th July.
"Behaved like a fugitive"
Hagari stressed that Sinwar had been targeted by the military for several months, with efforts gradually limiting the areas where he could stay. Soldiers were closing off streets and demolishing tunnels, pushing the Hamas leader to move within a shrinking space. This led to him acting like a fugitive, according to another Israeli military spokesperson, Doron Spielman, who added that Sinwar eventually made the error of leaving a tunnel and entering one of the damaged apartments.
According to Hagari, Sinwar had been in the area where he was killed for some time, moving from house to house and likely attempting to escape to "safer areas located to the north." The military official added that the army is still searching for the Hamas leader's brother, Muhammad Sinwar, as well as other commanders of this terrorist group and will continue operations in the Gaza Strip.
Journalist Nurit Johanan from the public station KAN reported that a Palestinian passport issued in the name of a teacher from Rafah, who taught at a school run by the UN relief agency UNRWA, was found in Sinwar. The document had been invalid for over seven years.
