How IDF Tracked And Killed Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar

The Israeli military on Thursday told how Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a firefight after being tracked “going from home to home” desperately seeking to avoid detection in southern Gaza.
Israel has hailed the death of the 61-year-old Sinwar as one of the most important blows it has dealt Hamas since the Gaza war started with the group’s October 7, 2023 attacks.

The Israeli military “confirms that after a yearlong pursuit, yesterday (Wednesday), October 16, 2024, IDF (military) soldiers from the Southern Command eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the leader of the Hamas terrorist organisation, in an operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.

The dozens of operations carried out by the IDF and the ISA (Shin Bet internal security agency) over the last year, and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated, restricted Yahya Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination,” it added.

As more details emerge, it appears the killing was the result of a chance encounter rather than a targeted operation.
Israeli officials said the Hamas leader, who was being hunted by intelligence services for the past year, was killed after he emerged from the group’s underground tunnel system as he tried to escape to a safer location.

“IDF soldiers of the 828th Brigade (Bislach) operating in the area identified and eliminated three terrorists. After completing the process of identifying the body, it can be confirmed that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated.”
In a later statement, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Sinwar was killed after being spotted with two other fighters in the territory’s Rafah district.

They said he was found by infantry soldiers searching an area in the Tal El Sultan area of southern Gaza, where they believed senior members of Hamas were located.

“The forces idenfitied three terrorists who were going from home to home on the run,” Hagari told a briefing.
Troops engaged the group, forcing Sinwar to flee as the group dispersed after being shot. 
“Sinwar ran away alone into one of the buildings and our forces scanned the area with a drone – which you can see in this film — Yahya Sinwar injured his hand in the shooting, who can be seen here covered with his face, he threw a branch at the drone,” said Hagari.

According to accounts in Israeli media, tank shells and a missile were fired at the building.
Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said at this stage he was only identified as a fighter.
Troops entered the ruined building and found him with a weapon, a flak jacket and 40,000 shekels ($10,731.63).

– No hostages with Sinwar –
Drone footage released by the military showed Sinwar alone in a blown-up apartment, with one hand severly injured and head covered in a traditional scarf, throwing a stick at the approaching drone during his final moments.
“We identified him as a terrorist inside a building and we shot into the building and we entered to scan the area. We found him with a gun and 40 thousand shekels. He was on the run and our forces eliminated him,” said Hagari. 
“Near the terrorists we eliminated were no hostages and our forces are now screening the area,” he added.

In the last months of his life, Sinwar was believed to have stopped using telephones and other communication equipment that might have allowed Israel’s intelligence to track him down.
He was believed to be hiding in the vast network of tunnels that Hamas dug beneath Gaza over the past two decades, but many were uncovered by Israeli troops during the war.
The head of Israel’s military, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said Israel’s hunt for Sinwar had driven him “to act like a fugitive, causing him to change locations multiple times”.
Sinwar’s death is a huge blow to Hamas.

Israel accuses Sinwar of being the mastermind of the October 7 attacks along with Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
The Israeli military said Deif was killed in a strike earlier this year though the Palestinian group has not confirmed it.
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