How Israeli military found and killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza

Sinwar, 61, was said to have spent much of his time hiding in the tunnels of Gaza Strip, alongside the barrage of bodyguards and hostages of Israel being used as ‘human shield’.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: October 18, 2024 07:45 AM IST

4 min read

The Israeli troops had been hunting Gaza based Hamas militant group’s leader Yahya Sinwar since he masterminded the fatal October 7 attack on Israel last year. (Reuters)

The Israeli troops had been hunting Gaza based Hamas militant group’s leader Yahya Sinwar since he masterminded the fatal October 7 attack on Israel last year. And more than a year later, it is confirmed that he was killed by Israel Defense Forces in an operation in Gaza on Wednesday.

Sinwar, 61, was said to have spent much of his time hiding in the tunnels of Gaza Strip, alongside the barrage of bodyguards and hostages of Israel being used as a ‘human shield’.

According to the Israeli military, the IDF was conducting a routine patrol in Rafah on Wednesday and its 828th Bislamach Brigade was patrolling Tal al-Sultan. During the patrol, three militants were identified by the Israeli military and eventually killed in the operation. At first, there didn’t seem to be any remarkable firefight and soldiers didn’t return to the spot until Thursday morning.

Thereafter on Thursday, the bodies of the militants were inspected and one of them was found to bear resemblance with Yahya Sinwar. The corpse of the Hamas leader remained there and part of a finger was removed and sent to Israel for testing.

Eventually, it was confirmed and the Hamas leader’s body was extracted and brought to Israel. An IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that his forces didn’t know Sinwar was hiding there but they continued to operate in the region.

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Hagari added that the IDF identified that there were three operatives who were running from house to house and the military engaged with them. The man, who was later identified as Sinwar, “ran alone into one of the buildings”, Hagari added.

Israeli police officers escort the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who the Israeli military said was killed in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip. (Reuters)

Another IDF spokesperson Doron Spielman told MSNBC that Sinwar and two other militants fired upon the IDF soldiers. “The Israeli troops returned fire, also with a tank mortar shell, and the mortar shell hit the building, killing Sinwar and the other terrorists,” Spielman said, as reported by NBC news.

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The IDF couldn’t find any Israeli hostages in the compound as it was allegedly reported that Sinwar used them as ‘human shields’.

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“Sinwar died while beaten, persecuted and on the run, he didn’t die as a commander, but as someone who only cared for himself. This is a clear message to all of our enemies,” said Yoav Gallant, Israel’ defence minister.

The IDF, in a statement after Sinwar’s killing said, “its operations in recent weeks in the south had restricted Yahya Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination.”

However, Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the war with Hamas is still not over and that “evil” had been “dealt a blow”.

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