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Israel is investigating whether Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar has been killed after an operation in the Gaza Strip, with official confirmation expected in the coming hours. Senior Israeli officials said security sources consider there to be a ‘high probability’ that Sinwar was eliminated, Israeli news outlet N12 reports.
It comes as graphic images have circulated online purporting to show the body of the terrorist leader. The grim pictures show what appears to be a corpse resembling Sinwar lying on a pile of rubble, with a catastrophic head wound and injuries all over his body.
Israel’s Defence Forces said in a statement: ‘During an activity by IDF fighters in the Gaza Strip, three terrorists were killed. ‘The IDF and Shin Bet are investigating the possibility that one of the terrorists is Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed.’
The statement went on: ‘In the building where the terrorists were killed, no signs of the presence of abductees were found in the area. ‘The IDF and Shin Bet forces operating in the area continue to operate under the necessary caution.’
Israel said its ground forces had identified a group of terrorists in a building in an unknown location in Gaza, fired at them, and then an exchange of fire began. The force entered the building and saw that one of the terrorists resembled Sinwar, according to reports.
The man’s corpse is now reportedly being examined with DNA and dental tests to ascertain whether it does belong to the Hamas leader. While there has not yet been any official confirmation, a senior government minister told Israeli media that Sinwar was apparently eliminated.
‘This is a day of closing accounts and a message to all terrorists – we will haunt you until your last day anywhere on the globe,’ the anonymous source reportedly said. Sinwar is considered to be the chief architect the October 7 attacks on Israel, which saw 1,200 people killed and 250 taken as hostages by Hamas and other terror groups, according to Israeli tallies.
Following the massacre, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht vowed that Israeli troops would not rest until he was found and killed, and declared him a ‘dead man walking’. He has remained elusive throughout the year-long war in Gaza, hiding in the Hamas tunnel network beneath the Strip. The only apparent glimpse of him came in a video filmed just a couple of days after the bloody conflict erupted.
The black and white images, uncovered by IDF troops during a raid earlier this year, show a man believed to be Sinwar making his way through a tunnel along with his wife and three children, while carrying a large bag. ‘In that bag is about 25kg of dynamite. Around him are at least 20 hostages,’ according to Kobi Michael, Sinwar’s former Shin Bet interrogator. ‘A few times we have had the chance to kill him, but if we do, he will kill all the hostages around him.’
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