Israel Defense Forces has released drone footage of what it said were the "last moments"of Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar. The video showed Sinwar sitting on a couch, surrounded by rubble, inside a damaged and dilapidated house. In his final moments, he is seen throwing an object at the drone.
Here's the raw footage:
Raw footage of Yahya Sinwar's last moments: pic.twitter.com/GJGDlu7bie
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) October 17, 2024
Israel on Thursday killed Sinwar, 62, in a Gaza operation. In a social media post, IDF wrote “Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.”
Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2024
"The mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was eliminated… by IDF (Israeli military) soldiers," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
Later, IDF released a video message of his Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari, talking about the killing of Sinwar and Israel's operational goals in Gaza.
"Sinwar was responsible for the most brutal attack against Israel in our history. When terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel, massacred Israelis in their homes, raped our women, burned entire families alive, and took over 250 men, women, children, and babies hostage into Gaza. 101 hostages still remain in captivity in brutal conditions for the past year," he said.
Mr Hagari said that Sinwar tried to escape justice but he failed but the Israeli military did it.
READ | How Israeli Military Tracked And Killed Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar In Gaza
Blaming him for waging war with Israel while hiding behind civilians in Gaza, Mr Hagari reiterated, “Our war is with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza and we mean it.”
“We are working to increase the amount of humanitarian aid including food, water and medicine that goes into Gaza, to the people of Gaza who are suffering because of Yahya Sinwar,” he said and expressed condolences to the families of those murdered or kidnapped because of Sinwar.
“We bow our heads and remember how brave soldiers who paid their ultimate sacrifice to defend the people of Israel,” he added.
IDF is committed to “not rest” until they bring home all hostages “by any means”.
“We will continue to operate until we complete all our missions in defense of the people of Israel,” he signed off.
"While this is not the end of the war in Gaza, it's the beginning of the end,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas at the start of the war. He had earlier called Sinwar’s death an “important landmark in the decline of the evil rule of Hamas”.
Late Sinwar is said to be the mastermind of the October 7 attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures that includes hostages killed in captivity.
READ | Who Will Replace Yahya Sinwar? These Top Hamas Leaders Are In Contention
