Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, and his forearm was smashed before his death, causing severe bleeding, according to reports that cited a doctor who oversaw his autopsy. Sinwar suffered other serious injuries before a bullet to his head killed him, the doctor said.
The 61-year-old Hamas chief was identified through a DNA test, and his finger was severed and sent for testing.
“Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers,” Katz said in a statement.
Earlier today, Israeli forces announced that they had killed three terrorists during an operation in Gaza. The statement also noted that there were no signs of hostages in the building where the terrorists were found. “The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution,” the IDF added, emphasising the careful approach taken during their mission.
Israel has spared no resources in its year-long manhunt for the Hamas chief, engaging a taskforce of intelligence officers, special operatives, military engineers and surveillance experts under the umbrella of the Israeli Security Agency to eliminate one of the biggest enemies of the Jewish state.
Long considered as a planner of the military operations of Hamas, Sinwar consolidated his power when he was selected as a successor to Ismail Haniyeh in August. Israeli military eliminated Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July.
Born in 1962, Sinwar had been recruited by Hamas’s founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who made him a chief of an internal security unit known as Al Majd. His role was to hunt and punish those who were suspected of violating Islamic morality laws or cooperating with the Israeli forces, a position that eventually led to his arrest.
He was imprisoned in 1988 for killing four Palestinians for collaborating with Israel. He spent over two decades in an Israeli jail, where he learnt Hebrew.
He was released in a prisoner swap in 2011. He had been in favour of armed confrontation with the Jewish state over diplomatic initiatives.