Israel says it has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza
The Israeli military confirmed that Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya sinwar in Gaza, who was a key architect of the attack against Israel last year which sparked off the war. The soldiers may have stumbled upon him in an unintentional battle only to find out later that the body they found in the rubble belonged to Israel’s Most Wanted Man.
Israeli leaders hailed his death as a way to settle scores, just over a month after Hamas militants kidnapped and killed 250 people in Israel in an attack which stunned the nation. The Israeli leaders also hailed it as a turning-point in the campaign against Hamas and urged the group to surrender, and free some 100 hostages who remain in Gaza.
“Hamas won’t rule Gaza anymore.” Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, said: “This is the beginning of the new day after Hamas.”
U.S. officials have expressed their hopes for a truce with Sinwar removed from the equation. But removing him from the picture may not be enough to end this devastating war in which Israel has destroyed most of Gaza Strip and murdered more than 42,000 Palestinians. Gaza Health Ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians or combatants, but more than half the victims were women and children.
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Sinwar’s death was a devastating blow for Hamas. However, the group has shown resilience in the past when it lost leaders. Hamas did not confirm Sinwar’s demise immediately.
Netanyahu said Israel would continue fighting until the hostages were freed and it would keep control of Gaza for a long time to make sure Hamas did not rearm. This is an occupation that could last months or years.
After a year of cross-border firing, Israel launched a ground offensive against Hezbollah earlier this month. It increased its bombardment in Lebanon.
In his speech on the death of Sinwar, Netanyahu said: “Our war has not yet ended.”
Joe Biden, the president of the United States, said that Sinwar’s death opened the door to “a political settlement” which would provide a better future both for Israelis as well as Palestinians. He also said he was going to talk with Netanyahu about the best way to bring the hostages back home and end this war.
Sinwar is the leader of Hamas in Gaza Strip. He was promoted to the top leadership position of the group in July, after his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh was killed by an apparent Israeli attack in Tehran, the Iranian capital.
Israel has used airstrikes to eliminate a number of Hamas and Hezbollah senior figures in the last few months. Israel claims to have killed Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ military wing. However, the group says he is still alive.
In Sinwar’s situation, the troops only found him by accident.
Daniel Hagari, Israel’s military spokesperson, said that Israeli forces had identified three Hamas terrorists who were running from one building to another in Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah. They tried to shoot them, but they fled into a building.
Israeli soldiers released a drone video that showed what they said were Sinwar’s last moments. In a room ravaged by shelling, the man was sitting in a chair with his face covered, perhaps to conceal his identity. The video shows a man with a wounded hand throwing a stick towards the drone.
Hagari reported that the military fired another shell into the building, which caused it to collapse, killing Sinwar. Hagari said Sinwar had a bulletproof vest and grenades as well as 40,000 shekels (about $10,707).
Hagari stated that some of Sinwar’s DNA was found near the tunnels where soldiers found the bodies six hostages in August. Hagari said that the military believed weeks of searching in the area had forced Sinwar out of hiding.
Online photos circulated a body half-buried in rubble from a building that was destroyed. The man looked like Sinwar and had a large head wound. He was dressed in a military vest. Security officials in Israel took the photos, confirmed the official. The official spoke under condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigation.
Three militants have been killed, according to the military. Police confirmed that one of the men was Sinwar through dental records, DNA and fingerprint tests. Sinwar spent the last 30 years of his life in Israeli prisons, where he was treated for brain cancer. Israeli authorities have extensive medical records.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told Hamas fighters that it was “time to go out and release the hostages. Raise your hands and surrender.”
Netanyahu stated that Israel has “settled their account” with the person behind the Oct. 7, 2015 attack and “evil suffered a heavy defeat.” However, he also added, “the work before us is still not complete.”
He said that anyone from Hamas who handed over weapons or helped with the release of hostages will be allowed to safely leave Gaza. Around a third (33%) of the hostages still held in Gaza are thought to be dead.
On Thursday night, hundreds of people marched in Tel Aviv to demand the release of hostages following the news of Sinwar’s death. Some held signs reading “Sinwar is dead, end the conflict.”
Ifat Kalderon’s cousin, Ofer, is being held as a hostage in Gaza. Ifat said that he was glad Sinwar had died but was “scared” about the 101 hostages. They may murder them or even do something as a result of the killing of Sinwar.
One Palestinian woman who had been displaced from her home north of Gaza, Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, expressed her hope that the death of Sinwar would put an end to Israel’s campaign. What more do they want? Enough. “We want to go back,” the woman said, Umm Mohamed.
Sinwar was hailed by some as a symbol for resistance to Israel’s occupation of Palestinians in West Bank. Ahmed Hamdouna who fled his home also in northern Gaza said Hamas could replace him. “A thousand leaders will follow the leader.” He said that after the man, “a thousand men” will follow.
Since more than a fortnight. Israeli forces are conducting a ground operation in the Jabaliya Refugee Camp in northern Gaza. They claim to be fighting Hamas fighters that have regrouped in this area.
Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that an Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed at least 28 people in a school housing displaced Palestinians. Fares Abu-Hamza, the head of Gaza’s Emergency Unit in the North, confirmed that the dead included four children and a woman.
Israeli officials said they targeted an Islamic Jihad and Hamas command center inside the school. The Israeli military provided a list with around a dozen people’s names who it had identified as militants and were present at the time of the strike. The names could not be verified immediately.
Israel has struck schools and tent camps sheltering displaced persons in Gaza. The Israeli military claims it conducts precise strikes against militant
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