News
Israel says Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, 61, killed
He was allegedly killed "by chance".
October 18, 2024, 12:43 AM
Update, 12:38am: As this is a developing story, the latest information is that the Israel foreign minister said the Hamas leader is dead.
Update, 12:59am: Israel confirms Sinwar is dead.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on X (formerly Twitter) that Sinwar has been killed.
Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2024
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced via X on Oct. 17, 2024 at 8:53pm (Singapore time) that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, 61, has possibly been killed during IDF operations in Gaza.
Reuters reported at 11:44pm (Singapore time) that Israeli ministers had been informed that the IDF had "very likely" killed Sinwar.
The post also noted the identity of those neutralised cannot be confirmed yet:
During IDF operations in Gaza, 3 terrorists were eliminated. The IDF and ISA are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed.
In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there...
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2024
According to The Guardian, several security officials told Israeli media that the three bodies had been taken to Israel for DNA tests and that the IDF assesses “with high probability” that one of those killed was Sinwar.
The Times of Israel reported that the casualties occurred after troops opened fire on combatants on the ground floor of a Gaza building in an incident that started on Oct. 16.
The Guardian also reported that Sinwar had been killed “by chance”, and not as a result of intelligence gathering.
The bodies were reportedly found with lots of cash and fake IDs.
Photos of Sinwar's alleged dead body have been circulating on Israeli social media accounts:
Photo via @mishtal/X.
Hamas has yet to make any comment on Sinwar's possible demise.
Sinwar was a founding member of Hamas.
He had risen in the ranks to assume total command of Hamas in Gaza.
According to Israeli officials, he was also the likely mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack in 2023.
On Sep. 28, 2024, Israel had killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on the group's central headquarters.
Top photo via IDF/Facebook.
