““Shockingly similar.” How the Israeli military accidentally eliminated a Hamas leader they had been hunting for more than a year – NYT October 18, 23:21 Share: Houthi supporters express support for Hezbollah and Hamas, Yemen, October 18, 2024 (Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah) For more than a year, security forces Israel, with the support of the United States, spent great resources and gathered vast amounts of intelligence to find Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Palestinian”, — write on: ua.news
Houthi supporters show support for Hezbollah and Hamas, Yemen, October 18, 2024 (Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)
For more than a year, US-backed Israeli security forces have spent extensive resources and gathered vast amounts of intelligence to locate Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas. However, in the end, it was eliminated almost by accident.
Sinwar is believed to be the main architect of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks and was the most wanted man in the country, The New York Times reported on Friday, October 18.
Where was Sinwar found?
According to Israeli officials, one of the units was patrolling southern Gaza on Wednesday, October 16, when the IDF encountered a small group of militants. The military, with the support of drones, engaged in a firefight that killed three Palestinian militants.
During the battle, the fire opened by the military destroyed part of the building where the militants were hiding. When the dust settled and they began surveying the building, the Israeli military noticed that one of the bodies bore a striking resemblance to the Hamas leader, sources told The New York Times.
It would seem that it was unlikely to find the leader of Hamas in such a place. Israeli and American intelligence had long believed that Sinwar, fearing for his own safety, was hiding deep underground, surrounded by hostages.
How Sinwar died
Photos obtained by the publication, which later circulated on the Internet, showed the body of a man with facial features that strongly resembled those of Sinwar. There were several serious wounds on the body, including on the head and leg. Also in the photo, you could see characteristic moles near the eyes and crooked teeth that pointed to Sinwar.
A few hours after the end of the battle, the military cautiously approached the bodies. The place was still mined. The military feared that one of the bodies might have been mined.
They found money and weapons alongside the militants, an Israeli official who shared photos of the scene told The New York Times.
The military, according to one of the officials, were also concerned about the possibility that there might be hostages in the area, but they were never found. The Israeli military said there was no evidence that any hostages still in Gaza were injured in the fighting.
On the evening of October 17, the Israeli army, having completed the identification process, announced that Yahya Sinwar was dead.
How Hamas responded
On October 18, Hamas confirmed Sinwar’s death.
“He died fighting and resisting the occupying army until the last minutes. We continue the path of Hamas. Sinwar’s flag will not fall,” said his deputy Khalil al-Hayya, who is in exile in Qatar.
The New York Times added that there is little indication that the group is willing to make concessions to Israel that could end the war in Gaza.
The elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — what is known
Yahya Sinwar was appointed as the leader of the terrorist group Hamas after the Israelis eliminated the former leader, Ismail Gania, in Tehran in August.
The Israeli authorities considered Yahya Sinwar one of the organizers and commanders of the brutal attack by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023 on Israel and publicly promised to eliminate him.
On October 17, the elimination of Sinvar was officially confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was reported that the operation was successfully performed the day before.
Later, the head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israel Katz, confirmed the elimination of Sinvar after one of the operations in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF said that Sinwar had been hiding above ground and underground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip for the past year.
Later, The Times of Israel, citing Israeli intelligence services, reported that Sinwar had been hiding in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah for several months. Moreover, the IDF did not have accurate intelligence data on his location until the last moment. As journalists report, the soldiers who executed the leader of Hamas managed to establish his identity only after the fact.
On October 18, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Khalil al-Hayya, confirmed the death of the leader of the terrorist group.