{"id":37403,"date":"2024-10-17T15:18:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T19:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/sinwar-mastermind-of-oct-7-attacks-was-long-sought-by-israeli-forces\/17\/10\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-10-17T15:18:56","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T19:18:56","slug":"sinwar-mastermind-of-oct-7-attacks-was-long-sought-by-israeli-forces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/sinwar-mastermind-of-oct-7-attacks-was-long-sought-by-israeli-forces\/17\/10\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Sinwar, mastermind of Oct. 7 attacks, was long sought by Israeli forces"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em>Warning: This article contains graphic imagery.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The long-sought mastermind of Hamas&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/israel-says-palestinian-militants-are-infiltrating-gaza-rcna119315\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks<\/a> has been killed in an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, Israel said Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI stand before you today to inform you that Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated,\u201d Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a television statement.<\/p>\n<p>The Israel Defense Forces said Sinwar was killed Wednesday by soldiers in southern Gaza. Hamas has yet to confirm his death.<\/p>\n<p>Yahya Sinwar was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/hamas-says-chosen-yahya-sinwar-mastermind-oct-7-attacks-new-leader-rcna165437\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:declared;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">declared <\/a>Hamas\u2019 new political head in August following the assassination of<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/hamas-chief-ismail-haniyeh-killed-israeli-airstrike-iran-hamas-says-rcna164425\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ismail Haniyeh;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> Ismail Haniyeh<\/a>. Sinwar&#8217;s death will come as a significant blow to the militant group and its supporters \u2014 and as a major coup for Israel and its<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/middle-east-conflict\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:war in the Gaza Strip;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> war in the Gaza Strip<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Before Sinwar\u2019s death was announced, a senior Israeli official told NBC News that troops had identified him as being among three militants killed during a \u201cheavy gun battle\u201d in Gaza. But, they said, the operation had not been aimed specifically at killing Sinwar.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/live-blog\/live-updates-hamas-leader-yahya-sinwar-possibly-killed-gaza-rcna175922\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Follow along for live coverage;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><strong><em>Follow along for live coverage<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\" style=\"max-height: 640px\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-lightbox caas-img-loader\" style=\"padding-bottom:67%\" data-lightbox-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/MT9rS94xyvLAS5w1E7oboQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI0MDA7aD0xNjAw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/6623377a53007a78f3b7db3b478351e9\"><span class=\"caas-img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar (Ali Jadallah \/ Anadolu Agency via Getty Images file)\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/lwa1YwWmPC7uCLuxDwlbyg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/6623377a53007a78f3b7db3b478351e9\" class=\"caas-img\"\/><button class=\"link caas-lightbox\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;elm:expand;itc:1\"><span class=\"openArrows icon\"><svg width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\"><path d=\"M12.372 0.92C12.372 0.414 12.782 0.004 13.287 0.004L21 0L20.996 7.712C20.996 8.217 20.586 8.628 20.08 8.628C19.574 8.628 19.164 8.217 19.164 7.712V3.183L12.337 10.011L10.988 8.663L17.816 1.835H13.287C12.782 1.835 12.372 1.425 12.372 0.92ZM1.835 17.816L8.663 10.988L10.012 12.337L3.183 19.164H7.712C8.218 19.164 8.627 19.574 8.627 20.08C8.627 20.586 8.218 20.995 7.712 20.995L0 21L0.004 13.287C0.004 12.782 0.414 12.372 0.92 12.372C1.425 12.372 1.835 12.782 1.835 13.287V17.816Z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\">Yahya Sinwar in Gaza City in 2022.<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The IDF and the Shin Bet had noted in a joint statement earlier Thursday that there were \u201cno signs of the presence of hostages in the area\u201d of the building where Sinwar and two other militants were killed.<\/p>\n<p>The IDF had vowed following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, to capture Sinwar \u201cdead or alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sinwar had been in charge of day-to-day governance in Gaza prior to Oct. 7 and was named Hamas\u2019 new political leader after Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike on his residence in Tehran in July.<\/p>\n<p>Haniyeh was attending the inauguration ceremony of Iranian President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/reformist-masoud-pezeshkian-wins-irans-presidential-runoff-election-be-rcna160521\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Masoud Pezeshkian;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Masoud Pezeshkian<\/a>. Israel, which typically remains silent on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/investigations\/israel-long-history-targeted-killings-enemies-rcna171888\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:targeted assassinations;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> targeted assassinations<\/a>, is believed to have carried out the attack.<\/p>\n<p>Sinwar, who was born in a Gaza refugee camp in the early 1960s, joined Hamas after its founding in 1987 and helped establish its internal security force a year later, according to a profile of him by the<a href=\"https:\/\/ecfr.eu\/special\/mapping_palestinian_politics\/yahya_sinwar\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:European Council on Foreign Relations;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> European Council on Foreign Relations <\/a>think tank.<\/p>\n<p>He was sentenced to life in prison in 1988 for plotting to kill two Israeli soldiers, as well as the killing of four Palestinians he suspected of collaborating with Israel. He was released years later in 2011 as one of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/id\/wbna44940342\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Gilad Shalit;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Gilad Shalit<\/a>, an Israeli soldier who had been held by Hamas for more than five years.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\" style=\"max-height: 720px\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-lightbox caas-img-loader\" style=\"padding-bottom:75%\" data-lightbox-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/ZeCUrtdmTfHBF_NP4UR4PA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI0MDA7aD0xODAw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/3974d981fd227fd787d527aa85514b05\"><span class=\"caas-img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview\" alt=\"A photograph purporting to show the body of Yahya Sinwar (Obtained by NBC News)\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/hENvq5ysB8GQTlBMSNl.kA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/3974d981fd227fd787d527aa85514b05\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A photograph purporting to show the body of Yahya Sinwar (Obtained by NBC News)\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/hENvq5ysB8GQTlBMSNl.kA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/nbc_news_122\/3974d981fd227fd787d527aa85514b05\" class=\"caas-img\"\/><button class=\"link caas-lightbox\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;elm:expand;itc:1\"><span class=\"openArrows icon\"><svg width=\"22\" height=\"22\" viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\"><path d=\"M12.372 0.92C12.372 0.414 12.782 0.004 13.287 0.004L21 0L20.996 7.712C20.996 8.217 20.586 8.628 20.08 8.628C19.574 8.628 19.164 8.217 19.164 7.712V3.183L12.337 10.011L10.988 8.663L17.816 1.835H13.287C12.782 1.835 12.372 1.425 12.372 0.92ZM1.835 17.816L8.663 10.988L10.012 12.337L3.183 19.164H7.712C8.218 19.164 8.627 19.574 8.627 20.08C8.627 20.586 8.218 20.995 7.712 20.995L0 21L0.004 13.287C0.004 12.782 0.414 12.372 0.92 12.372C1.425 12.372 1.835 12.782 1.835 13.287V17.816Z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\">A photograph claiming to show the body of Yahya Sinwar. Soldiers were blurred at the source. The face and body has been partially blurred by NBC News.<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Sinwar quickly rose up through the ranks of the militant group and was elevated to its helm in a secret ballot in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>The already elusive Hamas leader went into hiding after the Oct. 7 attacks and was believed to be concealed within the elaborate tunnel system used by Hamas militants in Gaza, according to Israeli officials.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement Thursday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters, which represents the families of hostages held by Hamas, said it welcomed the possibility of Sinwar\u2019s killing and urged the leveraging of \u201cthis major achievement to secure hostages\u2019 return.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of the roughly 250 people taken hostage into Gaza during the Oct. 7 attacks, 154 have been freed, with 101 hostages still held in Gaza, including 33 believed dead, according to Israeli officials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am hopeful that his personal reign of terror has ended,\u201d Thomas Hand, the father of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/17-hostages-released-second-group-israel-hamas-pause-fighting-gaza-rcna126651\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Emily Hand;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Emily Hand<\/a>, who was released by Hamas as part of a temporary cease-fire deal in November, told NBC News prior to Israel&#8217;s announcement confirming Sinwar&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope that this heavy blow to their command structure will help bring an end to this terrible war,\u201d he said. \u201cPerhaps they will feel weakened enough to come to the table and finally make a serious deal to end the war and give us back our poor hostages after more than a YEAR in brutal captivity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Sinwar&#8217;s death would create \u201can opportunity for the immediate release of the hostages and a potential change that could lead to a new reality in Gaza\u2014 without Hamas and without Iranian control.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is significant for Israel\u2019s government, for example, at the very least in terms of it being a political win, with the commemoration of the Oct. 7 attack only having just passed,&#8221; Mahdi Ghuloom, a regional security analyst at Le Beck International, told NBC News.<\/p>\n<p>While Israelis would welcome the news of Sinwar&#8217;s death, it did not fundamentally change the situation for hostages being held in Gaza, according to Ronni Shaked, a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a very happy moment for every Israeli. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to change the situation for the Israelis who have been kidnapped,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Israel is not going to find some new way to bring them back now because it\u2019s not just in the hands of Sinwar.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rashid Khalidi, professor emeritus of modern Arab studies at Columbia University and author of &#8220;The Hundred Years\u2019 War on Palestine,\u201d agreed, saying Sinwar&#8217;s killing represented a &#8220;Pyrrhic victory.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe killing of Sinwar, if confirmed, will not minimize resistance to Israel\u2019s occupations,&#8221; he said before the news was announced.<\/p>\n<p>More than 42,400 people have been killed in Gaza, health officials there say, in the year since Israel launched its offensive after the attacks.<\/p>\n<p>This article was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/hamas-leader-yahya-sinwar-israel-investigating-dead-rcna175892\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:NBCNews.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">NBCNews.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/israeli-military-investigating-possibility-hamas-165942304.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warning: This article contains graphic imagery. The long-sought mastermind of Hamas&rsquo; Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks has been killed in an Israeli<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/sinwar-mastermind-of-oct-7-attacks-was-long-sought-by-israeli-forces\/17\/10\/2024\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}