Jerusalem: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was tracked by an Israeli mini-drone as he lay gravely injured in the rubble of a building in southern Gaza. Footage released by Israeli authorities on Thursday captured him slumped in a chair, covered in dust, during his final moments. The video depicts Sinwar throwing a stick at the drone in a desperate attempt to fend it off, highlighting the dire circumstances he faced as he struggled for survival.
Israeli officials said they had been conducting an intensive manhunt for Sinwar for over a year. However, the Israeli soldiers who killed him were unaware at first that they had just neutralized their top target after a gun battle on Wednesday. The Israeli military explained that they had been gradually narrowing the area in which Sinwar could operate. His death was confirmed through dental records, fingerprints, and DNA testing.
Unlike other operations that targeted high-ranking militant leaders such as Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif—who was killed in a July 13 airstrike—the death of Sinwar occurred during a chance encounter. Infantry soldiers from the Bislach Brigade, who were searching the Tal El Sultan area of southern Gaza, opened fire on three suspected militants. A gunfight ensued, and Sinwar took refuge in a ruined building.
Israeli media reported that tank shells and a missile were fired at the building. The Israeli military released footage from a mini drone on Thursday, showing Sinwar with a wounded hand, sitting on a chair with his face partially covered. He was filmed throwing a stick at the drone in a futile attempt to take it down.
At the time, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesperson, said Sinwar was identified as just another fighter. However, when soldiers entered the building, they found him armed, wearing a flak jacket, and carrying 40,000 shekels (around $10,700). “He tried to escape, and our forces eliminated him,” Hagari confirmed during a televised briefing.
Though Hamas has yet to comment officially, sources within the group have indicated that Sinwar’s death seems highly probable. The Israeli military credited their operations over the last year for restricting his movements, ultimately leading to his demise.
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Sinwar, one of the key masterminds behind the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, had been evading capture by refraining from using communication devices that could have exposed his location. While Israeli officials suspected he was hiding within Hamas’s intricate network of underground tunnels, those too were becoming increasingly compromised by Israeli forces.
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Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, head of Israel’s military, said that the prolonged pursuit had forced Sinwar into a fugitive lifestyle, frequently moving between locations. Israeli authorities were also concerned that Sinwar was using hostages as a human shield to protect himself. However, no hostages were found near him when he was killed. DNA samples linked to Sinwar were discovered in a nearby tunnel, not far from where Hamas executed six Israeli hostages in late August.
