Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whom Israel claimed was killed in a military operation in Gaza on Thursday, was reportedly not the intended target of the mission. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) allegedly were unaware that he was in the building where the operation took place.
According to a report by The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew media, Israeli soldiers observed several fighters from the Palestinian group entering a building during the operation on Wednesday, prompting an airstrike that partially collapsed the structure. Israel stated that Sinwar, considered the mastermind behind the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, was killed along with two others, whose identities have yet to be disclosed.
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Meanwhile, Israel’s Kan Radio reported that Sinwar was killed “by chance” rather than as a result of targeted intelligence operations. The station also mentioned that cash and counterfeit IDs were recovered from the site where the bodies were found, as reported by The Guardian. The IDF confirmed on Thursday that Sinwar was killed by its forces in southern Gaza the previous day.
“The dozens of operations carried out by the IDF and the ISA (Shin Bet internal security agency) over the last year, and in recent weeks in the area where he was eliminated, restricted Yahya Sinwar’s operational movement as he was pursued by the forces and led to his elimination,” the IDF stated.
Sinwar has been at the top of Israel’s most wanted list since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war just over a year ago, and his death represents a significant blow to the militant group. Hamas has not yet confirmed his death.
Sinwar succeeded Hamas’s former chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in August. Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in Iran in July, an incident that both Iran and the Palestinian group have attributed to Israel. However, Israel has not commented on Haniyeh’s death.
Israel’s announcement regarding Sinwar comes weeks after it allegedly assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a major strike in Lebanon, where the Israeli military has been involved in conflict since late September.
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