Israeli forces in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the chief architect of last year’s attack on Israel that sparked the war, the IDF said Thursday. Troops appeared to have run across him unknowingly in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was Israel’s most-wanted man.
Israeli leaders celebrated his killing as a settling of scores just over a year after Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. They also presented it as a turning point in the campaign to destroy Hamas, urging the group to surrender and release some 100 hostages still in Gaza.
“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza. This is the start of the day after Hamas,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
President Joe Biden said Sinwar’s death opens the way for “a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
Sinwar has been Hamas’ leader inside the Gaza Strip for years. He was elevated to the group’s top leadership position in July after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
In the past months, Israel has eliminated a string of senior figures from Hamas and Hezbollah with airstrikes. Israel has claimed to have killed the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, but the group has said he survived.
But in Sinwar’s case, troops found him by chance.
Israel military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that Israeli forces identified three Hamas militants running from building to building in Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah. The troops attempted to shoot them before they ran inside a building.
The Israeli military released drone video showing Sinwar’s last moments: In a room wrecked by shelling, a man sat in a chair, his face covered with a cloth, possibly to hide his identity. The video showed the man, with one wounded hand, throwing a stick at the drone.
The military then fired an additional shell at the building, causing it to collapse and killing Sinwar, Hagari said. He said Sinwar was found with a bulletproof vest, grenades, and 40,000 shekels ($10,707).
Some of Sinwar’s DNA had previously been found in tunnels near where troops found the bodies of six hostages at the end of August, Hagari said. The military believes weeks of searches in the area had pushed Sinwar to come out of hiding, he said.
Netanyahu said Israel had “settled its account” with the man behind the Oct. 7 attack, and that “evil has suffered a heavy blow.” But, he added, “the task before us is not yet complete.”
(AP)
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7 Responses
HE DIED LIKE A DOG!!!!!!!!!!
🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱
You mean to tell us they found him in the place where Biden administration warned Israel not to go in?
Dear YWN-
THANK YOU HASHEM!
Why don’t you mention Hashem anywhere in this post!!!??? This time there was no “brilliant idf plan” that causes people to say kochi vi’otzem yadi, rather pure hashgacha pratis with no extra planning from the idf. we must recognize that this is from Hashem, and not make the historic tzioni post-victory mistake of taking the credit instead of giving it to Hashem. Especially when this time Hashem made it so easy for us to do given that there was no genius idf plan that brought this about. And through that properly being makir tov to the Aibishter may we be zocheh to more yeshuos and the geula shleima!
Also- it’s not necessary to show the dead guy in the picture, plenty of kids go in this site and that’s pretty gruesome…
Boruch hashem
he is in hell!!!!!!!
Baruch Hatov V’Hamaitiv- now the Dayyan HaEmmet will go to work and take revenge on all the Jewish blood he has on his hands as joins the other yesmach shemaam in Geheenoim
@Your friend
You are 1000% right!
But- note that this article was taken from the AP…
I’m not sure if everyone else is understanding that this entire war is running around the Jewish calendar. The start of the war on shabbos shemini atzeret, the missile attacks from Iran on pesach and on erev Rosh Hashanah, and now the killing of sinwar on the first day of sukkot. Everything is filled with feel spiritual depth. Look up the ramchal at the end of derech hashem regarding sukkah and lulav. This whole yom tov is about the רוממות of עם ישראל in comparison to the אומות העולם. BezH as opposed to last year which was a big sakana due to lacking shofar on the first day of RH and לולב דאורייתא on sukkot, this year we had both, and we even got neilah at the most beloved time of רעוא דרעוין the end of the day of שבת. It seems, and I hope that it’s confirmed, that as opposed to last year which was דין, this year will be complete רחמים. What’s next? Israel attacking Iran on hoshana raba? Now THAT will be something out of this world.
Hashem is showing us that he’s in complete control. We must do complete teshuva to merit seeing the בנין בית שלישי, very soon!