Killing of Yahya Sinwar
On 16 October 2024, during their operations in the Gaza war, Israel Defense Forces troops killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. His killing was the result of a routine patrol and a chance encounter in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. He had been one of Israel's most wanted men after the October 7 attacks.
In the lead-up to the shootout, members of the 828th Bislamach Brigade reported activity they deemed suspicious and received orders to engage. When their drone spotted three militants leaving a building, the soldiers fired upon them, not knowing that Sinwar was among them. The militants scattered, with Sinwar entering a nearby building alone. A firefight ensued, in which an IDF soldier was severely injured. An IDF tank fired at Sinwar's location and troops advanced into the building, but they pulled back after he threw grenades at them. IDF then sent the drone to survey the interior, detecting the injured Sinwar, his identity still unknown to engaging troops. After entering again the following day, they found Sinwar's body in the wrecked building and suspected it could be his, based on resemblance. They cut a finger from the body and sent it to Israel for identification purposes; later in the day, the body was dispatched as well.
Sinwar's body was identified through dental records and DNA testing, and his death was confirmed by Israeli officials soon afterward. An Israeli pathologist reported that the body showed various injuries from different causes, and that Sinwar died from being shot to the head, causing severe traumatic brain injury. Hamas also acknowledged his death on 18 October. In the subsequently released footage made by the Israeli drone, seen by many, Sinwar is seen wounded as he throws a stick at the drone. Some in Israel characterized the imagery as showing defeat, while Sinwar's supporters interpreted his conduct as emblematic of defiance. Critics questioned Israel's choice to release the footage in the first place, based on concerns that it contributes to Sinwar's post-mortem heroization.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killing of Sinwar "settled the score", but warned the war would continue with full force until Israel's hostages were returned. U.S. president Joe Biden stated "This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world", comparing Sinwar's death to the killing of Osama bin Laden and emphasizing that it presents an opportunity for a "day after" in Gaza without Hamas. In Hamas's statement confirming Sinwar's death, Basem Naim said: "Hamas becomes stronger and more popular with each elimination of its leaders. It hurts to lose people, especially unique leaders like Yahya Sinwar, but we are sure we will win in the end."
Background
Sinwar had served as Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip since February 2017. His leadership was characterized by a focus on military strengthening and alliances with Iran and Hezbollah. Committed to the destruction of Israel, he is thought to be, alongside Mohammed Deif, one of the main architects of the October 7 attacks in 2023. The group, under his leadership, had been planning this assault for two years prior to its execution. By launching the attack, Sinwar initiated the Gaza war—one of the deadliest wars in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict— which Sinwar considered to have been a necessary sacrifice to achieve Hamas's political objectives. He also drew Iran and other members of the Axis of Resistance, including Hezbollah—whose capabilities have significantly diminished due to Israeli actions—along with the Houthi movement and Iraqi militias, into direct conflict with Israel.In February 2024, a video was published of Sinwar moving in a tunnel with his family. The International Criminal Court was scheduled to issue a war crimes indictment against Sinwar, as announced in May. Sinwar was chosen as head of the movement's political bureau on 6 August 2024 after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. The following month, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed the criminal indictment it had filed against Sinwar.
On multiple occasions throughout the war, residents of Gaza criticized Hamas, Sinwar, and economic conditions both through demonstrations and with online media. Prior to his death, Sinwar stated in his speeches that he would rather be killed by Israel than die by a heart attack or in a car accident. In one instance, he said that "the best gift the enemy and the occupation can offer me is to assassinate me and that I go as a martyr at their hands".
The Israeli security establishment was reportedly aware for months that Sinwar was hiding in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, although his precise location remained unknown. On 31 August, six hostages were killed near the building that Sinwar was later killed in. He had reportedly been in the same tunnel with them. The United States said that it assisted in gathering intelligence that aided the IDF in narrowing down its search for Sinwar but denied any involvement in the operation that killed him.
Killing
On 17 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces reported a "high likelihood" that Sinwar was killed in Rafah. The IDF had engaged in a firefight with a group of Hamas militants the previous day, killing three operatives. The shootout was carried out by conscript soldiers from Bislamach Brigade who did not know who they were fighting, according to Kan. There were no hostages nearby. According to an IDF spokesperson, Sinwar had been in a damaged building before a tank fired at the structure. An Israeli pathologist reported that Sinwar sustained injuries to his right forearm from a tank or missile fire, his left leg from "fallen masonry", and multiple shrapnel wounds in his chest, before being shot in the head, resulting in his death from "severe traumatic brain injury". The gunshot to the head contradicted the IDF, who reported combat ended after a tank shell fired at the building.The IDF also stated that it had killed Sinwar's bodyguard, Mahmoud Hamdan, after previously incorrectly claiming to have assassinated him on 10 September 2024. Hamas also later confirmed Hamdan's death.
Order of events
On 16 October 2024, at approximately 10:00am, IDF troops noticed a suspicious figure entering and exiting a building in their vicinity, after which an order was given to engage. At 3:00pm an IDF drone detected three militants exiting the building, two covered in blankets and clearing the path for a third. The soldiers opened fire and the group scattered, two entering one building and the third, later proven to be Sinwar, entering another building and climbing to the second floor. An IDF soldier was severely injured in the firefight that ensued. A tank fired a shell at Sinwar's location, and infantry soldiers began to sweep the building. Sinwar lobbed two grenades at them; one exploded and one did not. The troops then pulled back and sent in a drone which detected an injured figure with a covered face attempting to knock the drone out of the air with a stick. At the time, it was not known that the masked man was Sinwar. After the drone broke contact, an additional tank shell was fired at the building. The infantry fired a MATADOR rocket at the building and raked it with machine gun fire.Following the incident, troops discovered a body that had a striking resemblance to Sinwar, dressed in military fatigues, with a grenade and a gun, while assessing the collapsed building where the exchange occurred. Additional items found on his person included 40,000 shekels in cash, a lighter and a passport unrelated to him, which belonged to a UNRWA teacher. It is reported that the three bodies were found carrying cash, weapons and fake IDs.
Following this, Israeli officials informed the security cabinet of Sinwar's likely death. IDF forces were not specifically targeting Sinwar during the operation, and they did not anticipate his presence in the area.
Initial reports indicated that DNA, dental, and fingerprint tests would be conducted for formal identification, as the IDF holds Sinwar's records from his time in prison. Photos circulated on social media purportedly showing the body believed to be Sinwar with wounds to the head and a leg. According to The New York Times, the photos matched archival footage of Sinwar including crooked teeth and distinctive moles.
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, which also published photographs of the body, confirmed that Israel's forensic police unit made a full match with Sinwar's dental records. Israel Police said in a statement that the body matched Sinwar's dental records and fingerprints. The identification was further confirmed by DNA testing. Hamas also confirmed his death on 18 October. An autopsy by Chen Kugel, chief forensic pathologist at Israel's National Center of Forensic Medicine, showed the cause of death was a shot to Sinwar's head.
Analysis
The Associated Press described Sinwar's death as a "dramatic turning point" in the war, stating that the killing "decapitates the Palestinian militant group that was already reeling from months of assassinations up and down its ranks", and called it "a potent symbolic achievement for Israel in its battle to destroy Hamas."The CEO of the Israel Policy Forum, David Halperin, and the president of J Street, Jeremy Ben Ami, predicted that Sinwar's killing was an opportunity to return the hostages and de-escalate the situation. Gershon Baskin, who helped negotiate the 2011 Shalit deal, said a full hostage deal could take 3–4 days.
Brian Carter of the Institute for the Study of War wrote that Sinwar's death will not change the course of the war, noting that Hamas still has capable commanders. Further, he stated that the release of hostages was unlikely, as Hamas wishes to use them to pressure Israel into a full withdrawal from Gaza, a move that he calls entirely unacceptable, as it would enable Hamas to rebuild its military capabilities.
The Economist reported that following the death of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas faces internal struggles regarding its power dynamics and ideological direction. While Hamas retains military forces in Gaza, "their exhaustion and weakness might allow other power hubs to wrest power away from Gaza." Israel is expected to demand Hamas's surrender, seeking a dissolution of its governance in Gaza rather than the concessions that Sinwar previously rejected. The report highlighted the ideological struggle within the group, identifying potential leaders such as Khalil al-Hayya, who advocates for ties with Iran, and former leader Khaled Mashal, who may pursue integration with the PLO. The outcomes of these struggles, according to the report, will significantly impact Hamas's future, either leaning toward a path of moderation or increased Iranian-backed extremism.
The Guardian wrote that Sinwar's death while participating in ground battles alongside a small group of militants ran counter to the Israeli defense establishment's assumptions that he would be hiding underground, surrounded by hostages. There were no hostages in Sinwar's vicinity at the time of his death, and no civilian casualties were reported.