Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attacks, was killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza yesterday in a confrontation in Rafah. His death was verified by Hamas today.
What we understand
A top Hamas official told NBC News today that the militant group would only become stronger in the first public reaction to Israel’s murder of its leader, Yahya Sinwar. Later, in a long obituary, Hamas announced that it was in grief for Sinwar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday that Sinwar, the mastermind of the terrorist assaults on October 7, 2023, had been assassinated by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
Netanyahu dashed expectations that Sinwar’s death would pave the door for peace in an address today, declaring that Israel would carry on with the war.
The Israeli military summoned another reserve brigade to northern Israel and moved more troops into northern Gaza.
Hezbollah promised to intensify its conflict with Israel. According to Iran, “the spirit of resistance” will be reinforced by
For centuries to come, Palestinians will remember the dramatic video that the Israeli military published that allegedly depicts Yahya Sinwar’s last moments: Sinwar battling despite being covered in dust and having his right arm appear to have been blasted off.
It’s a sight that uncomfortably reminds one of the one-armed Zionist resistance warriors, Joseph Trumpeldor, Israel’s national hero.
Trumpeldor is now a legendary figure who represents Zionism and valiant patriotism. Although he lost his life in the struggle for Tel Hai in 1920, his legacy endures and continues to motivate young people to become soldiers. They remarked, “It’s good to die for our country.” His final words were well known.
In Israel, the statement is chanted on Memorial Day, written in textbooks, and exhibited in children’s schools. His well-known last words and fierce spirit of battle inspired songs. There are streets in Israeli cities with Trump’s name, and a lion’s statue is located where he fell.
However, many Israelis find it awkward to compare Sinwar, the guy who became the embodiment of brave Zionism, to their historic hero.
Following the passing of its leader, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas is in a far weaker position than before, according to national security spokesperson John Kirby. “This has created a unique opportunity to discuss a cease-fire and the return of hostages from Gaza,” Kirby told reporters in Berlin.
“Hamas’ military structure has just been almost completely destroyed,” he stated. “As you and I are discussing here today, they are completely incapable of carrying out another attack of the magnitude of October 7.”
Even though Hamas is a “shadow of their former self,” Kirby cautioned that it should not be undervalued since it still has the potential to be deadly.
They continue to function as a terrorist group. They have not left Gaza. “Hostages are still being held,” he stated.
“We have continued to discuss the possibility of starting something with our counterparts in Egypt and Qatar,” he stated.
IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshana provided more information regarding the operation that killed Yahya Sinwar during a briefing today.
The battle started on Wednesday when IDF soldiers located three suspects in Rafah, while the search for Sinwar took a year. According to Shoshana, Sinwar was hurt following a gunfight.
The two others, including Sinwar, took cover in different buildings. According to Shoshana, IDF forces confronted them, killed the other two, and then destroyed the third building where Sinwar was located using a tank and a drone.
Dental, fingerprint, and DNA tests were used to identify Sinwar. He said that the place had been booby-trapped, which made it more difficult to recover his body.
After Hamas confirmed Sinwar’s death, Abbas Zakie, a member of Fatah’s central committee, released a statement. Hamas has long been an adversary of Fatah, which was driven out of power in Gaza in 2007 and now controls the Palestinian Authority that oversees the West Bank. In July, a unity declaration was signed by the factions in Beijing.
He died with “honorable heroism,” according to Zakie’s statement. “He was not hiding underground or behind the confrontation lines, but rather he was carrying his weapon and his quiver and fighting like any resistance fighter in the field.”
While acknowledging that it is “a deep loss,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared in a statement today that the passing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “will not weaken the resistance” against Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated in a different statement on X that “the cause for liberation of Palestine from occupation is more alive than ever.”
The main state sponsor of Hamas is Iran.
The killing of Yahya Sinwar presents an opportunity to negotiate a cease-fire, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters today after a NATO meeting in Brussels.
Sinwar’s death “provides an extraordinary opportunity to achieve a lasting cease-fire, to end this awful war, and to rush humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he said, according to Reuters.
The statement strikes a divergent note from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed today to continue the war.
Austin also reaffirmed America’s commitment to Israel, adding that the U.S. forces in the Middle East are ready to support Israel’s defense.
In a speech today, Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior leader in Hamas’ political bureau, stated that the organization is unfazed by Yahya Sinwar’s passing.
Al-Haye declared that Sinwar’s passing “will only increase the strength and solidity of our movement,” referring to Sinwar as “a continuation of the caravan of great martyrs in the footsteps of the founding Sheikh Ahmed Yassin,” who was killed by Israel in 2004.
Al-Haye stated that Hamas would not waver in its resolve, although he did not name a replacement for Sinwar.
“Hamas is moving forward until the establishment of the Palestinian state on all Palestinian soil with Jerusalem as its capital,” he stated.
Residents of Jubail, the largest of Gaza’s eight historic refugee camps, reported that tanks blew damaged buildings and roads as they advanced deeper into the area. The Israeli military stated on Friday that it had dispatched another army unit to help its forces there.
After advancing through residential areas and suburbs, residents of Jabalia in northern Gaza reported that Israeli tanks had used heavy air and ground fire to approach the center of the camp.
They stated that the Israeli army was destroying dozens of homes every day, sometimes from the ground and sometimes from the air, as well as by planting bombs within structures and remotely setting them off.
After two weeks of operations in Jerusalem, the Israeli military claimed that its soldiers had killed scores of militants in
The Israel Defense Forces claimed to have killed two “terrorists” who had crossed the Jordanian border into Israel by a few feet.
According to the IDF, the suspects were recognized earlier today, and the two individuals engaged in gunfire with the soldiers. It further stated that one IDF soldier and one IDF reservist were hurt. Additionally, the IDF stated that it believed there was a “presence of an additional terrorist” in the region.
In a statement released today, the Jordanian Armed Forces said that none of its soldiers had crossed the border.
In a long statement today, Hamas’ collective leadership announced the death of Yahya Sinwar and praised the militant group’s deceased leader for his “martyrdom.”
leadersAccording to the statement posted on Telegram, “The martyr leader Yahya Sinwar was a continuation of the caravan of great martyr leaders” and also included a lengthy list of the group’s senior members who had been killed.
They promised to fight until they achieved “comprehensive” liberation and “return and the establishment of the Palestinian state on the entire Palestinian national soil with Jerusalem as its capital.”
In order to help its forces in northern Israel, where cross-border skirmishes with Hezbollah are still going on, the Israel Defense Forces said on Friday that it is mobilizing an extra reserve brigade for operational tasks.
The decision will “enable the continuation of combat efforts” against Hezbollah and “the achievement of the goals of the war, including the safe return of the residents of northern Israel to their homes,” according to a statement that was released on Telegram with the formal announcement.
Hopes that the murder of Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar might contribute to the end of over a year of intensifying Middle Eastern violence were shattered today by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vows to continue Israel’s conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The killing of its Palestinian ally Sinwar in Gaza, however, would “strengthen the spirit of resistance,” according to the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, which pledged to intensify its conflict with Israel and its supporter Iran.
A key moment in the year-long struggle occurred Wednesday when Israeli soldiers assassinated Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that set off the Gaza war, during a raid in the Palestinian territory.
Late yesterday, Netanyahu declared that Sinwar’s death was a turning point but pledged to continue the war, which in recent
Biden stated that yesterday’s passing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “represents a moment of justice.” “I told the Israeli Prime Minister yesterday that he had the blood of Americans and Israelis, Palestinians and Germans, and many others on his hands. Let’s also use this moment to look for a way to bring about peace and a better future for Gaza without Hamas.”
With the passing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, “we now hopefully see a tangible prospect” for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages, Chancellor Scholz stated that it is more crucial than ever to avoid a regional escalation.
Later today, the two leaders will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Biden
A spokesman for the United Nations’ UNIFIL peacekeeping operation stated today that the 10,000-man force would stay in Lebanon in spite of multiple direct Israeli military attacks in recent days, some of which he alleged were intentional.
Through a video link from Beirut, UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti stated, “They asked us to move, but we need to stay.” He went on to say that peacekeeper morale was still high despite the fact that some of them had been hurt in the attacks.
In response to a question concerning the potential use of self-defense against Israel, Tenenti stated that it was crucial to reduce tensions.
Hamas will not stop fighting, a senior Hamas member told NBC News today, marking the militant group’s first public reaction to Israel’s murder of Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar.
“Israel believes that killing our leaders means the end of our movement and the struggle of the Palestinian people,” Basem Naim, a member of the political bureau of the organization, responded when asked if Sinwar’s passing signaled the start of Hamas’ demise.
The founders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi were among the leaders he mentioned who had been killed by Israel. He also said, “Hamas each time became stronger and more popular, and these leaders became an icon for future generations to continue the journey towards a free Palestine.”
