New Delhi: Israel on Thursday killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in a Gaza operation. In a social media post, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote, “Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.” Israel Defense Forces has released drone footage of what it said were the “last moments” of Sinwar. The video shows Sinwar sitting on a couch, surrounded by rubble, inside a damaged and dilapidated house. In his final moments, he is seen throwing an object at the drone.
“The mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was eliminated… by IDF (Israeli military) soldiers,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Later, IDF released a video message of his Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari, talking about the killing of Sinwar and Israel’s operational goals in Gaza.
“Sinwar was responsible for the most brutal attack against Israel in our history. When terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel, massacred Israelis in their homes, raped our women, burned entire families alive, and took over 250 men, women, children, and babies hostage into Gaza. 101 hostages still remain in captivity in brutal conditions for the past year,” he said.
Hagari said that Sinwar tried to escape justice but he failed but the Israeli military did it. Blaming him for waging war with Israel while hiding behind civilians in Gaza, Hagari reiterated, “Our war is with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza and we mean it.”
“We are working to increase the amount of humanitarian aid including food, water and medicine that goes into Gaza, to the people of Gaza who are suffering because of Yahya Sinwar,” he said and expressed condolences to the families of those murdered or kidnapped because of Sinwar.
“We bow our heads and remember how brave soldiers who paid their ultimate sacrifice to defend the people of Israel,” he added.
IDF is committed to “not rest” until they bring home all hostages “by any means”.
“We will continue to operate until we complete all our missions in defense of the people of Israel,” he said.
“While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it’s the beginning of the end,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas at the start of the war. He had earlier called Sinwar’s death an “important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas”.
Raw footage of Yahya Sinwar’s last moments: pic.twitter.com/GJGDlu7bie
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) October 17, 2024
“Since the beginning of this war that Sinwar started on October 7 — we’ve said: Our war is with Hamas, not the people of Gaza. We mean it.”
IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari on the elimination of Yahya Sinwar and our operational goals in Gaza: pic.twitter.com/OgkgUc5Bhi
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2024