The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday that it may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar after a body resembling him was found after fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Sinwar was the architect of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and assumed overall leadership of Hamas when Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Iran, in late July.
The IDF said in a statement:
Initial report – Three terrorists were eliminated during an IDF operation in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces and ISA are investigating the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. The identity of the terrorist cannot be confirmed at this stage.
There was no evidence of hostages in the building where the terrorists had been removed. Troops operating in the area continue to operate with the necessary precautions.
More details later.
Mr. Shinwar is believed to have been hidden underground with more than a dozen hostages surrounding him to prevent him from being killed in an Israeli airstrike. He may have been in a building above ground, leading to speculation that he was attempting to leave Gaza.
Photos of a body resembling Shinwar circulated on social media as Israeli authorities took the body back to Israel for DNA testing. (Israel has Shinwar's DNA on file because he was once a prisoner in Israel and was saved from cancer by an Israeli doctor.)
era of israel reported:
It was only when Israeli soldiers arrived to survey the damage that they noticed that one of the three killed terrorists looked very much like Sinwar.
The IDF is still investigating whether the body was indeed Sinwar's, but Channel 12 reports that the body has not yet been brought back to Israel because the area where it was found is heavily booby-trapped. . The deceased was also wearing a military vest loaded with grenades.
However, a DNA sample was taken from the body for rapid testing in Israel.
While Israeli authorities considered the evidence, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted a post quoting Leviticus (26:7): “You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you with the sword.” was published on X, implying that Shinwar had died. :
According to reports circulating on social media, the soldiers appeared to be carrying out only a routine attack on a building where three terrorists were hiding. They were shocked to find out who one of them was.
Some speculated that Sinwar's death would make it easier to complete the hostage deal, as he had been the main obstacle.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days in office?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
