Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by the IDF in Tel Sultan in Rafah on Wednesday in an unplanned operation, sources close to the matter confirmed to The Jerusalem Post Thursday evening, several hours after rumors arose that he had been killed earlier Thursday.
Shortly after, around 7:45 p.m., confirmations came out from the IDF, Shin Bet, Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, and others, that Sinwar was in fact dead.
Evidence that Sinwar is dead included matching both his dental records and fingerprint records which Israel had from the period when he was in Israeli prisons until 2011.
So far all indications were that no hostages were killed during the unplanned operation.
The IDF and Shin Bet (ISA) put out a joint statement earlier Thursday saying, "Initial report - During IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, three terrorists were eliminated. The IDF and Shin Bet are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed," the IDF said.
"In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution."
Later, it emerged that Division 162, including the 828 Bislach Brigade, including a tank from Battalion 195 and infantry from Battalion 450, killed and identified Sinwar.
There are reports that one of his fingers was cut off and raced into Israel for quicker identification.
IDF troops suspected there were Hamas terrorists in the building area which they eventually fired on. Afterward, they found Sinwar’s body inside.
One of the terrorists targeted in the IDF strike in Gaza was Hamas's Khan Yunis division commander, who has been in close proximity to Sinwar since the start of the war.
The IDF also believes that Sinwar stayed in the same tunnel complex a few hundred meters away from the six slain hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino, who were being held in Rafah. According to the IDF, after the hostages were executed in late August, he started to move without other hostages as human shields.
Sources have also leaked that an operation in Tel Sultan in August likely came close to having killed Sinwar and put the IDF on notice that they might have been close on his trail.
The US has said that it also provided periodic intelligence to help track Sinwar and various Israeli hostages.
Wednesday 10am Bislach noticed suspicious figures going in and out of the structure. They fired on the structure.
3pm Drone notices three figures moving from house to house, including two checking the area in front of the third.
They continued to fire on them and wounded some of them. Two went into one structure and the third, (later learned this was Sinwar), went into the other structure.
Sinwar went up to second floor of structure. An IDF tank fired on the structure. They then used drones to review the status of the figure they had fired on. His face was covered. He tried to attack the drone. The IDF tank fired again on Sinwar. Then the IDF waited for facial, dental, fingerprints, and DNA checks.
N12's Amit Segal revealed what was found on Sinwar's body: Mentos, money, an AK-47, a lighter, and a UNRWA employee ID.
Mentos, money, an AK-47, a lighter, and a UNRWA employee ID: this is what was found on the body of the arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar. pic.twitter.com/38d5C7nepG
— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) October 17, 2024
Israel Police gave the following statement a few hours after the report: "In response to recent reports concerning the identification of Yahya Sinwar's assassination, the Israel Police, IDF, and Shin Bet are actively working to establish a definitive identification."
"As of now, one of the multiple necessary assessments has been completed for absolute confirmation. Dental images have been submitted to the police forensics lab, and DNA testing is currently in progress."
"Upon completion of these processes, we will be able to confirm the assassination. Further information will be released when available."
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi responded to the assassination saying, "We have settled the score with Sinwar who was responsible for the very hard day which we had a year ago."
Standing next to Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar and IDF Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkleman, Halevi went on to note that the IDF had undertaken a huge number of operations against Sinwar which had led to this moment.
Although the final operation which killed Sinwar happened without pre-existing intelligence, Halevi said that the entire situation was created by the continued determination of the military to keep carrying out operations to locate Hamas throughout Gaza in general, and in Rafah in particular.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, "Sinwar concluded his life defeated, chased, fleeing, and not as the commander, but as someone who only worried about himself."
Gallant continued, "This is a clear message for the families of those fallen and the hostages, but also for the people of Gaza, the end of this man who brought this disaster upon you has come, this is the moment to release the hostage and to surrender."
Sinwar orchestrated the October 7 Massacre, which led to the deaths of over 1,200 people, including Israelis and other nationalities alike, and the taking of over 250 hostages, of which 101 remain in Gaza.
Of the 101 hostages, the IDF confirmed that 48 were killed in captivity.
Human shields
Sinwar was widely believed to be hiding in Hamas tunnels in Khan Yunis and Rafah, never staying in one location for too long and avoiding communications technologies, relying on messengers.
Maj. Gen. Dan Goldfus has said that he was minutes away from catching Sinwar in March in his massive lair where he had also kept many hostages.
The Hamas terror chief was believed to be surrounded by the remaining hostages as a human shield, which had reportedly prevented the IDF from striking and killing him.
Conflicting reports emerged of whether Sinwar had left the tunnels over the course of the Israel-Hamas War, and the IDF obtained footage of the Hamas chief walking through the tunnels in February of this year.
Several Hamas leaders have been eliminated by Israel, including Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in July, Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, who was killed in the Gaza Strip also in July, Deif’s deputy Marwan Issa, and Haniyeh’s deputy Salah al-Arouri.