Hamas's Sinwar assassinated by IDF, Hezbollah calls for escalation

Iran's mission to the United Nations said late on Thursday night that "the spirit of resistance will be strengthened" following the elimination of former Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, who was assassinated by an IDF drone in Rafah.  

Former Hamas head Yahya Sinwar could be seen throwing a stick at the IDF drone that targeted him on Thursday moments before his assassination, Israel's military showed in released footage.

In the footage, a masked Sinwar is circled in red with the stick that he threw at the drone.

Sinwar can then be seen throwing the stick in the direction of the drone as he sits on a couch surrounded by the rubble of the building he was located within. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is already communicating with Hamas's mediators, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, to rekindle ceasefire negotiations after they stalled when Yayha Sinwar pulled away from the road-blocked discussions. 

Blinken spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud from aboard Air Force One on Thursday as US officials awaited confirmation from Israel of Sinwar's death, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Thursday afternoon. 

 Lebanese Hezbollah early on Friday announced "the transition to a new and escalating phase in the confrontation with Israel."

In a statement, the terrorist group said Israel's military losses have totaled 55 dead and more than 500 wounded soldiers and officers since the ground war in Lebanon began on Oct. 1.

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 from the IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz, and others that Sinwar was, in fact, dead.

Evidence of this included matching both his dental records and fingerprint records, which Israel had from the period when he was in Israeli prisons until 2011.

All indications so far were that no hostages were killed during the unplanned operation.

The IDF and Shin Bet 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 military said.

“In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area,” it said. “The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution.”

IDF soldiers evacuate the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar after a strike in Gaza, October 17, 2024 (credit: SOCIAL MEDIA/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT)

It was later revealed that Division 162, including the 828 Bislamach Brigade, which included a tank from Battalion 195 and infantry from Battalion 450, had killed and identified Sinwar.

There are reports that one of his fingers was cut off and rushed into Israel for quicker identification.

IDF troops suspected there were Hamas terrorists in the building area, which they eventually fired at. Afterward, they found Sinwar’s body inside.

The military said that at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the Bislamach Brigade noticed suspicious figures going in and out of the structure; they fired at it.

At 3 p.m., a drone noticed 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 identified as Sinwar, went into the other structure. He went up to the second floor.

An IDF tank fired on the structure. They then used drones to review the status of the figure they had fired at. His face was covered; he tried to attack the drone. The tank fired again at Sinwar. Then, the IDF waited for facial, dental, fingerprint, and DNA checks.

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 from the six hostages who Hamas had killed at the end of August and were being held in Rafah: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Ori Danino. According to the IDF, after the hostages were executed, 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.

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,” the police said.

“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 and Halevi went on to note that the IDF had undertaken a huge number of operations against Sinwar that had led to this moment.

Although the final operation that 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 some foreign nationals, and the taking of over 250 hostages, of which 101 remain in Gaza.

Of the 101 hostages, the IDF has confirmed that 48 were killed in captivity.

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 as to whether Sinwar had left the tunnels over the course of the Israel-Hamas War, with the IDF having 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.

Five fallen soldiers announced 

The IDF announced on Thursday evening that five soldiers from the Golani Reconnaissance Unit fell during combat in southern Lebanon:

Major Ofek Bachar, aged 24, from Ness Ziona, a Company Commander from the Golani Reconnaissance Unit, Captain Elad Siman Tov, aged 23, from Tzofim, a Platoon Commander from the Golani Reconnaissance Unit, Staff Sergeant Elyashiv Eitan Wieder, aged 22, from Jerusalem, a Squad Commander from the Golan (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)

• Maj. Ofek Bachar, aged 24, from Ness Ziona, a company commander

• Capt. Elad Siman Tov, aged 23, from Tzofim, a platoon commander

• Staff Sgt. Elyashiv Eitan Wieder, aged 22, from Jerusalem, a squad commander

• Staff Sgt. Yakov Hillel, aged 21, from Jerusalem, and

• Staff Sgt. Yehudah Dror Yahalom, aged 21, from Hebron.

In the incident where they fell, an officer and two additional soldiers from the Golani Reconnaissance Unit were severely injured.

The IDF began limited ground operations in Lebanon earlier this month to combat the Hezbollah terror group, which has continually attacked northern Israel since October 8 - a day after Hamas’s massacre on southern Israel.