More than a year after orchestrating the devastating October 7 attack on Israel, Hamas leader Yayah Sinwar has been killed by the Israeli military.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were on a routine patrol in Rafah, Southern Gaza when Hamas fighters opened fire from a building. The soldiers retaliated with a blow from a tank, destroying the building, afterwards flying a drone into it, two Israeli sources reported.
The IDF shared a video the drone captured of Sinwar on a chair, holding a long object. He threw it at the drone, before the recording concluded.
The building collapsed after the IDF fired a second blast. It was only after examining the rubble that soldiers identified Sinwar among the dead. His death was confirmed by DNA and dental records, said a US official.
An IDF spokesperson said on Thursday that Sinwar was heading to the north. He was found with a gun and Israeli shekels amounting to over $10,000.
His death could ease talks for a truce, US officials said, as Israel has also eliminated a number of Hamas and Hezbollah chiefs such as Ismail Haniyeh.
