Early Thursday morning, reports are pouring out of Israel that Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Hamas’ horrific October 7 attacks, was killed during Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in Gaza. From the IDF X/Twitter account:
During IDF operations in Gaza, 3 terrorists were eliminated. The IDF and ISA are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar. At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed.
In the building where the terrorists were eliminated, there were no signs of the presence of hostages in the area. The forces that are operating in the area are continuing to operate with the required caution.
There are graphic images circulating on the social media platform Thursday morning (which we’ll refrain from sharing here) that appear to be Sinwar. Additionally, a senior Israeli official has indicated that there is a “high likelihood” it was Sinwar who was killed.
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday it was working to confirm that one of three terrorists its forces had killed in Gaza was Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar, as a senior Israeli official said it was very likely that a body found at the scene was that of the October 7 mastermind.
The official said that the security establishment assesses that there was a “high likelihood” that the terrorist killed by the IDF was Sinwar.
Here’s more on what went down:
The terrorists were killed when troops opened fire on a group of combatants on the ground floor of a Gaza building in an incident that began on Wednesday. When the soldiers subsequently entered the building, they realized that one of the dead terrorists “looked very much like” Sinwar.
The army noted that there were no hostages present in the area where the three terrorists were killed. There have been reports that Sinwar has been hiding among hostages throughout the war, using them as human shields.
Prominent Israeli accounts are celebrating the news on X/Twitter, including Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant:
This is a developing story. RedState will provide additional information as it becomes available.
