Unseen Video Shows Slain Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Leading Gaza Operations Surfaces | WATCH- wna24
Jerusalem: A new footage of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar directing military operations in Gaza surfaced. The video shows Sinwar wearing a military vest with a stick in his hand with a blanket covering him.
The video posted by username Jonathan Sacerdoti posted a video with the caption, “Al Jazeera has aired a programme showing Yahya Sinwar walking around in the Rafah area, participating in directing the fighting. The Hebrew writing inside the house that Sinwar entered shows that IDF soldiers had been there previously.”
Meanwhile, in another video, Sinwar is seen in a polo shirt looking at a map spread out before them.
The widespread destruction in Gaza is visible in the video.
In a significant blow to Hamas leadership, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the elimination of Yahya Sinwar, on October 18. The surprise comes not from Israel’s elite forces or airstrikes, but from a relatively new IDF infantry soldier who had joined the Israeli army just nine months ago.
Addressing the nation, Netanyahu stated, “I stand before you to inform you that Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated. Today, we have shown what happens to those who oppose us; our mission is far from over, and we must recover the captives.” He added that Sinwar was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Israelis and the abduction of hundreds, calling him “a mass murderer.”
Born in 1962 in Gaza, Sinwar grew up in the shadow of displacement, as his family was among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs who fled during the wars surrounding the establishment of Israel. This background influenced his decision to join Hamas in the 1980s. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the chief of an internal security unit called Al Majd, where he was tasked with identifying and punishing individuals he deemed to be violating Islamic laws or collaborating with Israeli authorities.
Sinwar’s past is marked by violence; he was imprisoned in 1988 for the murder of four Palestinians accused of apostasy and collaboration with Israel. During his more than two decades in prison, he not only learned Hebrew but also delved deep into Israeli culture, translating contraband texts that detailed the workings of Israel’s internal security apparatus, Shin Bet. According to Yuval Bitton, an Israeli dentist who treated him while incarcerated, cited in a New York Times report, Sinwar shared his translations with fellow inmates, demonstrating his commitment to studying Israel’s counterterrorism tactics.
After his release from prison in a 2011 prisoner exchange, he quickly ascended the ranks of Hamas, consolidating his power. He played a key role in planning the October 7th attack on Israel. He was appointed to lead the group’s political office in August. This appointment followed the assassination of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, further solidifying Sinwar’s influence over both military and political strategies.