How was Sinouar found and killed?
According to Israeli army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israeli forces were operating “in recent weeks” in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, following reports indicating the likely presence of senior Hamas officials.
“Yahya Sinouar was hiding in places that we had already inspected” more “we didn’t know he was there”he clarified during a televised statement.
On Wednesday, soldiers from the 828th Brigade spotted “three terrorists who were moving from house to house”. Targeted by gunfire and grenades, the soldiers returned fire, forcing the group to disperse.
“Sinouar rushed alone into a building and our forces inspected the area with a drone. Yahya Sinouar, injured in one hand by the shots, hid his face and threw a branch in the direction of the drone”explained the spokesperson.
These images, taken “a few moments” before Sinouar’s death, show him sitting on the armchair in a gutted living room on the first floor of a partially destroyed building. He has a serious injury to one hand and his face is hidden by a keffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian scarf.
Then the building was hit by tank shell fire.
According to the New York Times, which interviewed the forensic doctor who carried out the autopsy in Israel, Yahya Sinouar was first seriously injured in the right forearm during the exchange of fire, then killed by a bullet. in the head. Touched, the Hamas leader wrapped an electric cable around his arm “but it wouldn’t have been enough anyway (…) It wasn’t strong enough and his forearm was shattered”the medical examiner told the NYT.
Rear Admiral Hagari said the Hamas leader had a pistol and 40,000 shekels (around 10,000 euros) on him.
He stressed that no Israeli hostages were near the three fighters, referring to those kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 attack and detained in Gaza. According to Israeli media, Yahya Sinouar kept hostages around him as human shields.
What happened to the body?
The body of Yahya Sinouar was found the next day by the military in the rubble of the building.
Unverified images posted on the Internet show Israeli soldiers surrounding a body with a significant head wound, lying covered in dust, wearing a large watch and resembling Sinwar.
According to the army, an examination of his teeth and DNA analyzes were carried out to confirm whether he was indeed Yahya Sinouar.
His body was transferred to the National Forensic Medicine Center in Tel Aviv, Israeli police later said.
According to the public media Kan, which cites an official who examined the body, Sinouar was in good health despite a year of tracking.
What were the reactions?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the death of the Hamas leader was “an important step” who scored “the beginning of the end” of the war in Gaza.
The army chief of staff, General Herzi Halevi, for his part declared that his country “settled accounts”but that the war “wouldn’t stop” before the capture of all the perpetrators of the October 7 attack and the return of “all the hostages”.
US President Joe Biden spoke of a “Happy day for Israel, the United States and the world” which offers the“opportunity for a political settlement” in Gaza.
His French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, estimated that the death of Yahya Sinouar represented a “occasion” which had to be seized to put an end to military operations.
Hamas has said the death of its leader will only “to strenghten” the Palestinian Islamist group. Its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, assured that the fight would continue “until the liberation of Palestine”.
Iran, Hamas’ main regional ally, assured that the death of Yahya Sinouar would “strengthen the spirit of resistance” with a view to the “liberation” occupied territories.
Lebanese Hezbollah, which entered into open war with Israel in support of Hamas, said “reaffirm its support for the Palestinian people”.
