More than a year after Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, the country’s military killed the man it considers the chief architect of that cross-border massacre — raising questions about the future of the war and of the militant group itself.
Israel has killed several other top Hamas commanders including Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s political leader.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sinwar’s death marked “the beginning of the day after Hamas,” but “the task before us is not yet complete.”
So, how did it happen? Israel had poured their resources into a fierce manhunt for Sinwar, declaring him as the most-wanted man in Gaza and a “dead man walking.” At one point, an Israeli military spokesperson said their hunt “will not stop until he is captured, dead or alive.”
And, US officials believe, the Israeli military got close a few times, at one point even obtaining a video that purportedly showed Sinwar with family members inside a Gaza tunnel — but he continued slipping away. The Israeli military previously surrounded Sinwar’s house and carried out an intensive assault on his hometown of Khan Younis but could not find him.
That year-long search came to an unexpected end in Rafah, when Israeli forces came under fire near a building during a routine operation, according to two Israeli sources.
The troops returned fire with a tank, then flew a drone into the building. A video shared by the military shows what seem to be Sinwar’s final moments: he sits alone in a chair, surrounded by dust and rubble, appearing to look directly at the camera. He holds a piece of wood in his hand and throws it at the drone before the video ends.
It was only then, and when troops inspected the rubble, that they realized Sinwar was among the bodies.
Dental records and other biometrics helped Israel identify the Hamas leader, according to a US official and former official familiar with the matter.
Sinwar had been trying to escape to the north when he was killed, the Israeli military said. He was found with a gun and more than $10,000 in Israeli shekels, it said.