Israeli drone footage captured Sinwar’s last moments as he threw a stick at it while seated in an armchair in a partially destroyed house, heavily injured in one arm.
Hamas has confirmed the killing of its leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli occupation forces, but stressed that it will continue fighting steadfastly for Palestine’s liberation.
In a televised address on Friday, Hamas’s Qatar-based political member, Khalil Al-Hayya, verified the killing of Sinwar, widely believed to be the mastermind of the unprecedented October 7 attacks against Israel last year.
This marks the first official statement from the movement since Israel’s announcement the previous day.
“We honour the memory of the fallen martyr Yahya Sinwar the leader of Hamas, the leader of Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, whose life ended while he bravely stood with his head up high, holding his firearm firing until his last breath,” Al-Hayya said.
Israel had said Sinwar was killed in clashes with an Israeli force in the Tal al-Sultan area, meaning he was not hiding in a tunnel as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously claimed.
Footage from an Israeli drone showed the last moments of Sinwar, where he threw a stick at it while sitting on an armchair in a partially destroyed house, heavily injured in one arm and masked.
Despite the killing of the Hamas leader, Netanyahu said that the war in Gaza is “not over” and that Israeli forces would be involved militarily in Gaza for “years to come”.
‘The one who lives’
The Israeli drone footage has led to many eulogising Sinwar’s death as a member of the resistance, fighting the enemy with his last breath. Israeli media reported that while injured, Sinwar threw two hand grenades at Israeli forces during the chance confrontation.
Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the chairperson of Qatar Foundation and the mother of Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, paid tribute to the late Hamas leader on X, who was known for his defiance.
“They thought he died but he did not, he [Yahya Sinwar] is alive and they are the ones who are gone,” Sheikha Moza said after Al-Hayya confirmed Sinwar’s death. “The name Yahya means the one who lives.”
Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, Lolwah Al Khater condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks against civilians in Gaza even after having killed Sinwar.
The Israeli occupation forces struck a UNRWA-run school in Jabaliya on Friday morning, which Al-Khater accused of being part of the repeating “holocaust”.
“Now after Sinwar, what is your new excuse? Why do you keep targeting schools, civilians, kids?” the top Qatari official said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Western leaders react
But for leaders of the West, who viewed Sinwar as a terrorist, his death was a cause for celebration.
“This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” United States President Joe Biden said.
His vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris echoed Biden’s words.
“Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people, including the victims of October 7 and hostages killed in Gaza. He had American blood on his hands,” she said, adding that “that the U.S., Israel, and the entire world are better off”.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Sinwar’s killing as bringing “a measure of justice” for the late Hamas leader’s victims and families.
“Sinwar’s death ends a reign of terror. Hamas must lay down its arms, release the hostages, and play no future role in the governance of Gaza,” he said in a post on X.
French President Emmanuel Macron held Sinwar as “the main person responsible for the terrorist attacks and barbaric acts”.
Sinwar was said to have orchestrated the surprise October 7 attack, where the Hamas armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, infiltrated occupied territories and returned with about 240 Israeli captives.
Hamas had released 109 captives late last year under a week-long truce deal between November and December, mediated by Qatar and Egypt.
Ceasefire efforts have stalled since the deal expired, with Israel intensifying its brutal war on the Gaza Strip while expanding the violence to the West Bank and neighbouring Lebanon.
In his most recent statement, Al-Hayya stressed that Hamas will not release the remaining Israeli captives unless the war on the Gaza Strip ends, Israel withdraws its forces from the area and Palestinian prisoners are released.
“The blood of the martyrs will continue to light our way and constitute an incentive for our steadfastness and perseverance,” he said.
Sinwar had been appointed by Hamas as its new political chief on August 6 after Israel assassinated Haniyeh alongside his companion, Wasim Abu Shaaban, in Tehran on July 31.
The movement is yet to name Sinwar’s successor.
