By Abiola Olawale
The Israeli military has released drone footage which it says shows Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s final moment before his death.
In the footage, Sinwar was seen alone in a ruined Gaza apartment with the walls blown out. He was seen sitting on a chair covered by dust, with his head and face obscured by a scarf.
Also, the video shows how Sinwar was flinging a stick over his head in the direction of the approaching drone in an attempt to hack down the drone.
Speaking on the footage, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Sinwar was found by infantry soldiers searching an area in the Tal El Sultan area of southern Gaza on Wednesday.
Hagari also revealed that the military then fired an additional shell at the building, causing it to collapse and kill him. He added that Sinwar was found with a bulletproof vest, grenades, and 40,000 shekels ($10,707).
He said: “Sinwar fled alone into one of the buildings. Our forces used a drone to scan the area, which you can see here in the footage I’m presenting.
“Sinwar, who was injured in his hand by gunfire, can be seen here with his face covered, in his final moments, throwing a wooden plank at the drone.
“He tried to escape and our forces eliminated him.”.
The New Diplomat reports that on Thursday, the Israeli military confirmed that it had killed Sinwar.
Sinwar is said to be the mastermind behind the deadly October 7, 2023, attack in Israel.
Sinwar was appointed the leader of the entire group after Israel killed his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Tehran in July. The Israeli military also said it had killed the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July. The Israeli military had earlier said it killed Hamas’ deputy political chief, Salah Arouri, in a bombing in Beirut in January.
Born on October 29, 1962, according to Hamas, Sinwar helped found the group’s internal security apparatus in the late 1980s. He earned a nickname among Palestinians: the “butcher of Khan Younis,” where he grew up in the southern Gaza Strip.
