GAZA: Hamas on Friday confirmed the death of its newly appointed chief, Yahya Sinwar, in yesterday’s Israeli attack.
In a video statement, Hamas said that Sinwar’s killing will “build strength,” adding that they will not release hostages until the Gaza war ends and Israeli forces withdraw from the besieged and bombarded territory, senior Hamas official Khalil Hayya says.
“We mourn the great leader, the martyred brother, Yahya Sinwar, Abu Ibrahim,” Qatar-based Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said in a recorded video statement broadcast by Al Jazeera.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated, “Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the October 7 attack, was killed today by IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) soldiers,” according to a statement sent to the media.
Israeli military sources also confirmed that Yahya Sinwar is dead following an initial DNA check.
Foreign Minister Katz called Sinwar’s killing a “military achievement for the Israeli army.” “The assassination of Sinwar will create the possibility to immediately release the hostages,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, the Israeli army said that it was investigating whether Yahya Sinwar was killed during an airstrike in Gaza. The brief statement provided no specific details about the operation or its timing but indicated that Sinwar might have been one of three Hamas members killed.
During operations in the Gaza Strip, “three people were killed,” the military said, adding that Israeli defence agencies “are checking the possibility that one of the persons was Yahya Sinwar.”
An Israeli security official, speaking anonymously, told AFP that DNA tests were being conducted on a body believed to belong to Yahya Sinwar to confirm his identity. “The Israeli military is conducting DNA tests on the body of a Hamas member to confirm whether it is Sinwar,” the official said.
Later on Thursday, Israeli police and military authorities revealed that one of the identification assessments had been completed, while other procedures were still ongoing. “Dental images have been submitted to the police forensics lab, and DNA testing is in progress,” the joint statement said. Final confirmation is expected upon completion of these tests.
Sinwar took over leadership of Hamas in August, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran on July 31, a death that Iran and Hamas blamed on Israel, although Israel has not taken responsibility for the attack.
Who was Yahya Sinwar?
Yahya Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in the Gaza city of Khan Younis. He was an early member of Hamas, which was formed in 1987.
Sinwar went on to lead the Palestinian group’s security arm, which worked to purge it of Israeli informants, the Associated Press reported. He served 22 years in prison in Israel.
Sinwar was eventually released in a 2011 prisoner exchange that freed Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, at which point Sinwar returned to his role with Hamas. He then ascended to a leadership position in Gaza in 2017.
Earlier on Thursday, at least 14 people were killed in an Israeli air strike that targeted a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza, two local hospitals reported.
The Israeli strike hit Abu Hussein School in northern Gaza’s Jabalia area, where civilians had sought refuge from the ongoing Israeli bombing campaign. Kamal Adwan hospital reported receiving ten bodies, while Al-Awda hospital confirmed four more fatalities from the incident.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza killing at least 42,438 Palestinians, mostly women and children, the territory’s health ministry said. According to the health ministry, the death toll included 29 people killed in the last 24 hours alone. The ministry also reported that 99,246 people have been wounded in Gaza since the conflict began.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to worsen, with the United Nations and other relief organizations warning of severe food shortages. A UN-backed assessment released on Thursday stated that around 345,000 Gazans could face “catastrophic” hunger this winter due to reduced aid deliveries.
This figure marks a steep increase from the 133,000 people currently classified as experiencing “catastrophic food insecurity.”
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The report, compiled by UN agencies and NGOs, highlights that the decline in aid is exacerbating the already dire situation. September saw the lowest volume of commercial and humanitarian supplies entering Gaza since March, leading to fears that the number of people facing extreme food insecurity could rise to 16 percent of Gaza’s population between November 2024 and April 2025.
UN agencies have repeatedly called for an end to Israeli attacks to allow for the delivery of crucial food and humanitarian aid.
Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), stressed the urgent need for immediate action. “To curb acute hunger and malnutrition, we must act now,” she said. She added that restoring humanitarian access is critical for ensuring food security during the upcoming winter planting season.
Meanwhile, global pressure mounts for Israel to improve access to humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza. The United States has also warned Israel that military aid may be withheld unless significant improvements are made in aid delivery to the besieged territory within 30 days.
The risk of famine, compounded by an intensified Israeli offensive, fresh evacuation orders, and restricted access to humanitarian aid, continues to loom over the densely populated Gaza Strip.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, warned on Wednesday that the situation could rapidly deteriorate.
