Israeli media: Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed

Yahya Sinwar recently succeeded Ismail Haniyeh – both as the political and military leader of the terrorist organization Hamas. This comes after Haniyeh was killed in a suspected Israeli attack in the Iranian capital Tehran last summer. Now, Israeli media reports that Sinwar has also been killed.

On Thursday afternoon, several Israeli media outlets including Times of Israel and Channel 12 reported that Hamas’ new leader Yahya Sinwar may be one of those killed in an IDF attack on the terrorist group in Gaza.

Sinwar is referred to as both the ‘Butcher of Khan Younis’ and ‘Gaza’s Bin Laden’. He is identified as the architect behind the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 last year.

Furthermore, he has previously been imprisoned in Israel – sentenced to four life sentences – after killing two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians who were said to have collaborated with Israel. Sinwar was released in 2011 along with 1,000 other prisoners in an exchange for several Israeli soldiers who had been taken hostage by Hamas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have not yet confirmed whether it is Yahya Sinwar who has been killed in the attack. According to Israeli media, the IDF is awaiting DNA tests.

Hamas has not commented on the reports.

“Our enemies cannot hide”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on the other hand, posted a new message on platform X in which he writes, ‘Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them’.

Furthermore, crossed-out images of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah commander Fu’ad Shukr can be seen, as well as an empty space which may refer to the new Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.