Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed moments after making a “critical mistake”, according to Israel.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) described the 61-year-old’s final minutes in a briefing on Thursday and stressed the strategic error that the Oct 7 mastermind made by leaving the Gaza tunnel network where he had been hiding.
The IDF forced him to “make this mistake” and “move like a fugitive” as they gradually closed off streets and blew up tunnels around Rafah in southern Gaza, Major Doron Spielman explained.
“In fact, just yesterday he did so [made a mistake]. He left the tunnel, went into an apartment building, and [Hamas] opened fire on Israeli troops. A tank returned fire, and he was killed in that attack,” said Maj Spielman.
The IDF claimed its troops restricted his movement to a “smaller and smaller area” as they advanced.
Maj Spielman added that the IDF had been operating around Rafah with the goal of eliminating “the most senior terrorists”.
Footage emerged late on Thursday of the moments before Sinwar was killed in a building on the outskirts of Rafah.
The Hamas leader threw a stick at an Israeli drone in an apparent final act of desperation.
He had been tracked by an Israeli mini drone as he lay dying in the ruins of the building that had been bombarded by IDF artillery.
Sinwar was filmed covered in dust as slumped in a chair, according to footage released by Israel.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said: “Sinwar fled alone into one of the buildings. Our forces used a drone to scan the area, which you can see here in the footage I’m presenting.
“Sinwar, who was injured in his hand by gunfire, can be seen here with his face covered, in his final moments, throwing a wooden plank at the drone.”
The IDF said that it has also expanded its operations in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza. It claimed “dozens of terrorists” were killed on Thursday night in “incidents and airstrikes”.
On Friday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was expected to hold a special security meeting at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, alongside government ministers and security officials.
