The IDF released dramatic new footage from the scene of the elimination of Yahya Sinwar. The video shows an IDF camera entering the completely destroyed building in Rafah through a metal gate. On the shattered staircase, a large hole is visible, apparently caused by an Israeli tank strike just minutes earlier.
At the entrance to the second floor, the camera immediately captures the now-famous orange couch, remembered from the last video of the mastermind of the October 7 massacre while he was still alive. On the floor, amid the rubble, lies the body of Yahya Sinwar, with numerous 200-shekel bills scattered beside him.
Video: New footage of Sinwar's elimination /// IDF Spokesperson's Unit
The elimination occurred when an infantry brigade unit, conducting a sweep of an area in Gaza to clear out terrorists, encountered three armed terrorists. In the ensuing firefight, all three were killed, and one was later identified as Yahya Sinwar.
Yahya Sinwar was the chief architect of the October 7 massacre, in which over 1,200 Israelis were murdered and more than 250 were abducted. The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed Sinwar's identity after a DNA test, closing a manhunt that had lasted for over a year.
Sinwar, born in 1962, grew up in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He was one of the founders of Hamas' military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and was considered one of the organization's most dangerous figures. In 1988, he was arrested by Israel and sentenced to five life terms for murdering Palestinians he suspected of collaborating with Israel. He was released in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, and quickly rose through Hamas' leadership ranks.
In February 2017, Sinwar was elected Hamas leader in Gaza, and in August 2024, he was appointed head of the organization's political bureau following the elimination of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh. Under his leadership, Hamas became more radicalized and began preparing for a large-scale attack on Israel. Sinwar was known his belief in the utter destruction of Israel.
