Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who orchestrated the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, may have been killed during an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operation in Gaza, according to a statement from the Israeli military on Thursday. The statement noted that three terrorists were eliminated in the operation, and the IDF is investigating whether one of them was Sinwar, though their identities have yet to be confirmed.
Israeli media reported that the bodies of the militants were taken to Israel for DNA testing, with security officials stating there's a "high probability" one of the dead was Sinwar. Israel’s Kan Radio suggested that his death may have occurred "by chance" rather than through targeted intelligence, noting that the bodies were found with cash and fake identification documents.
The operation took place in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israeli troops reportedly killed the three militants and took their bodies for further analysis. Visual evidence from the scene suggested one of the deceased could be Sinwar, and Israeli authorities are conducting DNA tests using samples from his time in Israeli prison.
Sinwar, 61, who was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp, has been a long-standing target of Israeli operations due to his role as the architect of the 2023 attack. Having spent years in and out of Israeli prisons, Sinwar rose through Hamas’s ranks, known for enforcing punishments on Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 1989 for the killing of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians, but was released after 22 years as part of the 2011 prisoner exchange that saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit freed in return for 1,000 Palestinians. Sinwar became the leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017, surviving multiple Israeli assassination attempts throughout his life.
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