The remotely-controlled drone shows Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the rubble of the shelled-out building with his head covered in a scarf to try and protect his identity
This is the dramatic last footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar throwing a stick to try and defend himself before a deadly Israeli drone strike.
The remotely-controlled drone shows the leader in the rubble of the shelled-out building and closes in on Sinwar, who is seen sitting on a dust-laden chair, with his head covered in a scarf to try and protect his identity. Sinwar looks directly at the drone, with his right hand wounded by bullets. In his left hand, he is seen throwing a stick toward the drone to try and defend himself before Israeli forces destroy the building.
Israel’s foreign minister called Sinwar’s killing a “military and moral achievement for the Israeli army.” In a statement, Minister Katz said: “The assassination of Sinwar will create the possibility to immediately release the hostages and to bring a change that will lead to a new reality in Gaza – without Hamas and without Iranian control.”
It is believed Sinwar was killed on Wednesday night in the southern Gaza Strip during a routine patrol by the IDF. With Hamas leader Sinwar now confirmed to be among the dead, it means Israel has taken out their main target in the brutal and bloody war that has raged for over a year.
Sinwar was chosen as Hamas’ top leader following the assassination of Ismael Haniyeh in July in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran. Israel has also claimed to have killed the head of Hamas’ military wing Mohammed Deif in an airstrike, but the group has said he survived.
President Joe Biden said Thursday that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli troops is a “good day for the world,” calling it an opportunity to free hostages held by the militant group and end the yearlong war in Gaza.
“Now’s the time to move on. … Move toward a cease-fire in Gaza, make sure that we move in a direction that we’re able to make things better for the whole world,” Biden told reporters as he arrived in Berlin for a short visit. “It’s time for this war to end and bring these hostages home. That’s what we’re ready to do.”
Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on the mission that killed Sinwar. They also discussed “how to use this moment to bring the hostages home and to bring the war to a close with Israel’s security assured and Hamas never again able to control Gaza,” according to a White House summary of the call.
However, Netanyahu said Thursday that “our war has not yet ended.” Besides seeking the release of hostages, Netanyahu has said Israel must keep long-term control over Gaza to ensure Hamas does not rearm — opening the possibility of continued fighting. Biden said he would be sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel in the coming days.
“Over the past few weeks, there have been no negotiations for an end to the war because Sinwar has refused to negotiate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “We now see an opportunity with him having been removed from the battlefield, being removed from the leadership of Hamas, and we want to seize that opportunity.”
Sinwar joined Hamas in the early 1980s, before taking a leadership role in the group in 2017. He was the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks, that saw Hamas infiltrating Israel’s borders, killing 1,200 people, taking hostages and sparking a devastating year-long battle against Hamas in Gaza.
He is said to have been unrepentant of the October 7 attacks, according to those in contact with him, despite provoking an Israeli invasion that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, laid waste to his homeland and rained destruction on Hamas’ ally, Hezbollah. In what is now more than a year of retribution for the October 7 attack, relentless Israeli bombing of Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Israel’s military claims to have hit more than 40,000 targets, found 4,700 tunnel shafts and destroyed 1,000 rocket launcher sites during its bombardment. It is widely believed that Sinwar had been hiding in Hamas’ extensive tunnel network that runs throughout the Gaza Strip, never staying in one place for too long and avoiding technology to communicate, using messengers instead.
Chilling footage emerged earlier this month, claiming to show the leader carrying a bag of dynamite through a narrow tunnel in a desperate attempt to stop Israel from killing him. Moments after the clip ended, Sinwar allegedly surrounded himself with 20 hostages in what was one of the last known sightings of the leader before he was killed by Israel.
