Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar has been killed in fight in Gaza with the Israeli navy, the Palestinian group confirmed.
Khalil Hayya, the pinnacle of Hamas in Gaza, mentioned in a televised tackle on Friday that the 62-year-old chief was “steadfast, courageous and intrepid” and “sacrificed his life to the reason for our liberation.”
“He met his finish standing courageous, along with his head held excessive, holding his firearm, firing till the final breath, till the final second of his life,” he instructed the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV.
“Since his early days, he was engaged in his wrestle as a resistant fighter. He stood defiant behind Israeli bars and after his launch in a swapped deal, he continued along with his wrestle and his dedication to the trigger.”
Hayya added that Sinwar’s “martyrdom” and leaders who preceded him “will solely enhance the energy and resilience of our motion.”
He mentioned, nonetheless, that that captives held in Gaza is not going to return till Israel stops its assaults on Gaza and withdraws its forces from the besieged enclave.
“Hamas will proceed till the institution of the Palestinian state on all Palestinian soil with Jerusalem as its capital.”
On Thursday, the Israeli navy introduced that Sinwar was killed in a shock firefight in Rafah, in southern Gaza.
“The forces recognized three terrorists who have been going from residence to residence on the run,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari mentioned in a briefing. “Sinwar ran away alone into one of many buildings, and our forces scanned the realm with a drone.”
Drone footage launched by the navy confirmed Sinwar coated in mud, sitting in an armchair with one hand severely injured and his head coated in a conventional scarf.
“We discovered him with a gun and 40 thousand shekels ($10,750),” Hagari mentioned.
Footage confirmed Sinwar throwing a stick on the approaching drone earlier than being shot within the head.
The navy carried out DNA testing, dental examinations and different forensic enquiries that confirmed his id.
The Israeli navy and media frequently claimed the Hamas chief was hiding deep within the tunnels underneath Gaza alongside hostages seized by his fighters throughout the October 7 assault.
“Within the constructing the place the terrorists have been eradicated, there have been no indicators of the presence of hostages within the space,” a navy assertion mentioned on Thursday.
Sinwar’s dying follows Israeli assassinations of different Hamas leaders and commanders.
He was named the group’s chief on August 6 as a successor to former political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated within the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31.
Israel thought-about Sinwar to be the architect of the Hamas-led October 7 assault in southern Israel, which triggered the present battle in Gaza through which Israeli forces have killed at the least 42,500 individuals, in line with Gaza’s Ministry of Well being.
Born in a refugee camp within the southern Gaza metropolis of Khan Younis, Sinwar spent half his grownup life in Israeli prisons.
He was launched by Israel in 2011 in a prisoner swap for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit with greater than 1,000 different Palestinians and was thought-about essentially the most senior and distinguished of all of these launched.
His dying represents a large blow to the Palestinian motion that has been engaged in battles with Israeli forces within the Gaza Strip for greater than a 12 months.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah vowed to escalate preventing in opposition to Israel, whereas Iran mentioned “the spirit of resistance” could be strengthened by the dying of its Palestinian ally.
Many world leaders hoped his dying would pave the best way for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu known as Sinwar’s killing a milestone however vowed to maintain up the conflict. “We have now earlier than us an ideal alternative to cease the axis of evil and create a special future,” he mentioned.
