The Israeli military has released a drone video purporting to show the death of Hamas political leader Yahya Sinwar in southern Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that Sinwar was killed at an unspecified location. Officials in West Jerusalem celebrated the demise of the man crucial to the Palestinian group’s military activities, including the October 7 attacks.
On Thursday evening, IDF international spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani posted a 48-second video on social media, describing it as Sinwar’s “final moments.”
Footage from a drone shows a bombed-out house somewhere in Gaza, with a shrouded figure inside seated in an armchair.
Although Shoshani described the footage as “raw,” the video pauses and labels the seated figure as Sinwar, in a red outline. One of the man’s arms appears to be injured. With the other arm, the man throws what seems to be a stick or a sword at the drone. The object misses, but the video stops at that point.
According to the Jerusalem Post, units of the 828 Bislach Brigade killed Sinwar on Wednesday, in what was described as an “unplanned operation” in the Rafah neighborhood of Tel Sultan in southern Gaza.
The Hamas leader was reportedly spotted by a surveillance drone going into a building. Tanks opened fire on the building and the IDF sent a drone in to check on the target. After Sinwar attacked the drone, the tank fired into the building again.
Graphic imagery of what appeared to be Sinwar, buried under the rubble, made rounds on social media on Thursday. The IDF confirmed his identity by matching dental and fingerprint records from the time the Hamas leader was in prison. Israeli media have reported that one of Sinwar’s fingers was cut off and rushed to the lab for faster identification.
A reporter with Israel’s Channel 12 posted photos of the items found on Sinwar’s body. Among them were mints, money, a lighter, a Kalashnikov rifle, and an employee ID for the The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
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