Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an Israeli army spokesman, said Thursday that Hamas leader Yahya Sinouar was killed in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
“Yesterday, in Tel Sultan in Rafah, Yahya Sinouar was eliminated by army fighters”he said in a televised statement. “The army and the Shabak [aussi appelé le Shin Bet, le renseignement intérieur israélien] operated for months to provide intelligence to eliminate Yahya Sinouar, the leader of Hamas, the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, and one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing, which planned and executed the October 7 massacre. »
He said that before the strike that killed him, a group of three fighters had been spotted. The soldiers then shot at the group, forcing them to disperse, without knowing that Sinouar was one of the members of the trio.
“Sinouar rushed into a building alone and our forces inspected the area with a drone. Yahya Sinouar, injured in one hand by the shots, hid his face and threw a stick in the direction of the drone”explained Daniel Hagari, showing a video filmed by the drone.
These images show Sinouar sitting on the armchair of a gutted living room on the first floor of a partially destroyed building. He has a serious injury to one hand, his face hidden by a keffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian scarf.
“We identified him as a terrorist in a building and we fired on that building before going in to inspect the area. We found him with a gun and 40,000 shekels [environ 10 000 euros]. He was on the run and our soldiers eliminated him”continued the spokesperson.
He added that no Israeli hostages were near the three fighters.
