The occupation army announces the killing of "Yahya Sinwar" during clashes in Rafah

The Israeli occupation army confirmed today, Thursday, the killing of the head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Yahya Sinwar, during clashes in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, Wednesday.

The Israeli army said in a statement that its soldiers carried out operations over the past few days in the southern Gaza Strip based on intelligence information indicating that Hamas leaders were present in the area.

He added that a force from the 828th Brigade present in the area clashed yesterday with 3 fighters and killed them, and after examination it was found that Sinwar was one of them, according to the army statement.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said during a speech on the Gaza Strip border that "Israel today ended a long-standing score with Sinwar," adding that his killing was a message to the families of the dead and the Israeli detainees that "the army is doing everything for them," as he put it.

The Israeli Army Radio reported that the clash with Sinwar took place in Tel al-Sultan in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and that he was wearing a military vest, along with another field commander.

Journalist Elias Karam told Al Jazeera, quoting Israeli media, that the assassination took place by chance without any prior intelligence information, during the army’s targeting of a building where Sinwar and other fighters were present.

He added that medical examinations are ongoing to confirm that one of the bodies belongs to Sinwar, noting that Sinwar was a prisoner of the occupation and they have medical reports on him, including the results of the DNA test.

Axios quoted Israeli officials as saying that the clash that likely led to Sinwar's death took place yesterday, Wednesday, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army and the internal security service (Shabak) said in a joint statement that they were examining the possibility that they had managed to eliminate Sinwar in what was described as "army activity" in Gaza.

The statement said that the bodies of three of those described as saboteurs were found, and that it was investigating whether Sinwar was one of them, and stressed that there was no final confirmation of the identity of the three yet.

The occupation army reported that there were no indications that the building in which the military operation took place contained Israeli detainees.

Hamas has not commented on the Israeli statement yet.

Israel considers Sinwar the mastermind behind the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023, which killed more than a thousand Israeli soldiers and settlers.

Source: Al Jazeera