“Yahya Sinwar” – IDF confirms the death of Hamas leader in Gaza on 17 Oct, 2024 

The IDF has confirmed the death of Hamas leader named “Yahya Sinwar, aged 62”, following a strike in Gaza. Israeli forces committed no hostages were present at the location post operation which targeted 3 militants.

The Hamas-linked website Al-Majd advised Palestinians to be patient for updates directly from Hamas instead of trusting Israeli media, which it alleged seeks to lower their spirits.

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed in Gaza, Israel confirms | BBC News

The IDF officially announced Yahya Sinwar’s death on Thursday, confirming: “Body identification process completed, Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated.” The report also mentioned that Sinwar had been concealed for the previous year within the Gaza population, residing in Hamas tunnels both on the surface and below ground.

The event took place during a specific ground mission in Rafah, located in the southern region of Gaza by Israeli Army Radio stated

Yahya Sinwar’s demise would represent a major triumph for the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the assassinations of several high-profile enemy leaders in recent months.

Yahya Sinwar played a significant role in the attacks on October 7

According to Israeli government statistics, around 1,200 people were killed, including several Canadian citizens, and over 250 hostages were taken to Gaza when armed militants led by Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

Before confirming Yahya Sinwar’s death, Harden informed CBC News that he would be monitoring to see what actions Hamas would take with the hostages.

Harden implied that Hamas could potentially harm the rest of the hostages, but there was a possibility that this situation could allow senior Hamas members in Qatar or other locations to engage in negotiations with the Israelis.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports that 42,438 Palestinians have been killed and 99,246 others have been wounded in Israel’s retaliatory campaign. The ministry’s data does not differentiate between combatants and non-combatants, though it reported that numerous women and children have died in airstrikes.

Nevertheless, he has managed to avoid being captured until now, possibly concealing himself in the maze of tunnels that Hamas has constructed beneath Gaza over the last twenty years.

After the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, in August, Sinwar, who once led Hamas in Gaza, was chosen as the new top leader of the organization.

Yahya Sinwar was set free following a 23-year stint behind bars

Sinwar, who was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in 1962, gained fame by leading the “Majd” security unit, responsible for hunting down and eliminating Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israeli forces against Hamas.

In 1988, he was taken into custody and given two life sentences for plotting the abduction and murder of two Israeli soldiers as well as killing four Palestinians.

While he was in prison, he received medical care from an Israeli physician.

Yuval Biton, the ex-chief of intelligence at the Israeli Prison Service, reported that Sinwar underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor while he was imprisoned, being treated by Israeli doctors.

Sinwar was among 1,027 Palestinians let go from Israeli jails in 2011 in return for one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was captured for five years after a raid.