A bulletproof vest, 40,000 shekels, taking refuge in the tunnels… IDF gives details of the hunt for Yahya Sinwar

The end of almost a year of tracking. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel, was “eliminated” during a military operation in the south of the Gaza Strip, in Rafah. “Evil has taken a severe blow”welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while recalling that this new victory, “milestone” in the decline of Hamas, did not mean the end of the war. Thursday evening, the Israeli army released a video filmed with a drone, in which we see the leader of the organization shortly before his death, appearing to die on an armchair, stick in hand, in a dilapidated building.

Daniel Hagari, IDF spokesperson, gave some details on the hunt for the 61-year-old man, responsible for the deaths of more than 1,100 people in the massacres a year ago. He said the hunt had been going on for months, and his DNA had been found in a tunnel a few hundred meters from where Hamas murdered six hostages in August. According to the rear admiral, Sinwar had been moving through the tunnels in the area for some time. He was trying “probably to escape to the North, to safer areas”as the IDF’s grip tightened. “He was fleeing from house to house, we got closer and eliminated him”he greeted.

Research focuses on Sinwar’s brother

On Wednesday morning, an Israeli armed forces soldier spotted a suspicious figure entering and exiting a building in Rafah, in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, according to the daily Times of Israel. He then sounded the alarm. At that time, no one knew that it was Sinwar. “We shot at the building”said Daniel Hagari. According to the Israeli daily around 3 p.m., three men were spotted leaving the same building, moving from one house to another. The soldiers opened fire again, injuring the terrorists. Two entered a first building; the third, Sinwar, entered a second. Here again, the armed forces fired. Still according to the newspaper, Sinwar took refuge on the first floor. A tank shell was reportedly fired. Then, “we entered to search the building”Hagari continued.

According to our colleagues, Sinwar defended himself using two grenades. One would have exploded. But the man had been seriously injured in the arm in the previous shots. The soldiers then reportedly withdrew and a drone entered to inspect the room. He found a man with an injured arm and a covered face – Sinwar – who can be seen in the video released by the IDF. Another tank shell was then fired at him. It was not until Thursday morning that troops who came to search the rubble of the building inspected the body, and found that it resembled the Hamas leader. Which will later be confirmed by DNA tests.

On site, the soldiers notably found “a bulletproof vest, a weapon and 40,000 shekels (nearly 9,900 euros, Editor’s note)”Hagari pointed out. The remains of the Hamas leader were transferred to a morgue in Tel Aviv. The research is now focusing on Yahya Sinwar’s brother, Muhammad, as well as all Hamas military commanders. Army Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi said the war ‘wouldn’t stop’ before the capture of all the perpetrators of October 7 and the return of “all the hostages” detained in Gaza.