The Israeli military has released drone footage showing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the moments before his death in Gaza. Iran, which backs Hamas in its “axis of resistance” against Israel, says the video will prove “a source of inspiration” to Muslims.
Friday 18 October 2024 09:50, UK
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A number of gunmen have opened fire on Israeli soldiers after entering the country from Jordan, the IDF has said.
Military officials said the “terrorists” fired shots toward Israeli soldiers in the southern Dead Sea area, near Moshav Neot HaKikar, before they were “neutralised” by IDF forces.
Magen David Adom emergency services said two Israelis were wounded in the incident.
The statement said additional forces had been dispatched to reinforce the area and were conducting searches on the ground and air for one of the gunmen, who it says likely fled the scene.
“The public is requested to follow the instructions of Israeli security forces,” it added.
As discussed in our 8.08 post, video showing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s final moments has given rise to a series of responses from supporters of Palestinians that suggests it presents him as a heroic figure.
This sentiment is reflected in the full statement of Iran’s mission to the United Nations honouring Mr Sinwar.
“When US forces dragged a dishevelled Saddam Hussein out of an underground hole, he begged them not to kill him despite being armed,” it said.
“Those who regarded Saddam as their model of resistance eventually collapsed.
“However, when Muslims look up to martyr Sinwar standing on the battlefield – in combat attire and out in the open, not in a hideout, facing the enemy – the spirit of resistance will be strengthened.
“He will become a model for the youth and children who will carry forth his path for the liberation of Palestine.
“As long as occupation and aggression exist, resistance will endure, for the martyr remains alive and a source of inspiration.”
Mr Sinwar, who was 61, was a chief architect of the Hamas attack on southern Israel that precipitated the latest escalating conflicts in the Middle East.
Iran and Iraq fought a brutal war in the 1980s that began when Saddam Hussein launched an invasion of Iran.
On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group said this morning it was entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops, as the region continued to reckon with the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Hamas has still not responded to the Israeli announcement of his death, although its ally Iran released a statement commemorating the Palestinian militant leader through its mission to the United Nations.
And a statement from Hezbollah operations room said it was announcing “a transition to a new, escalated phase in its confrontation with the Israeli enemy, details of which will unfold in the coming days”.
“Hezbollah continues to confront the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, inflicting significant losses on the Israeli army in terms of personnel and equipment, including both officers and soldiers, across all engagement fronts from the forward lines in southern Lebanon to positions deep within occupied Palestine,” it said.
The statement appears to refer to a drone laden with explosives that evaded Israel’s multilayered air-defence system and slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens.
The group also announced earlier this week that it fired a new type of missile called Qader 2 toward the suburbs of Tel Aviv.
The statement also said that Hezbollah’s air defence units shot down two Israeli Hermes 450 drones this week.
Hezbollah said its fighters are working according to “plans prepared in advance” to battle invading Israeli troops in several parts of south Lebanon.
While the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been celebrated in Israel, the nature of his death – and footage showing his final moments – has given rise to a rather different sentiment among some Palestinians and their supporters.
Video from an Israeli military drone shows him sitting on a chair in the ruins of a building, his face covered in a scarf, before trying to throw an object at the drone.
Israeli officials had routinely suggested Sinwar spent his time hiding in tunnels below Gaza and said he was using hostages as human shields – claims not supported by the footage captured shortly before his death.
Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian Initiative, said the images would present a heroic image to many.
“I’m afraid that what happened is not really compatible with what the Israeli side is saying,” he told CNN.
“I think they were looking for a photo of victory, but Sinwar gave them a different image.
“The fact they distributed images of his body, which is something that is unacceptable by all terms, has revealed that he was fighting.
“He was not hiding in a tunnel, as Netanyahu claimed, he was not hiding behind Palestinian civilians, taking them as human shields, as Israeli propaganda used to say.
“He was not hiding behind Israeli prisoners or captives, as they also claimed – he was fighting.
“This image will make him look like a hero for most Palestinians and most Arabs, and most people who are against Israeli occupation and against the oppression that Palestinians are subjected to.
“So in my opinion, Sinwar one more time has failed the Israelis, he has failed their intelligence, they couldn’t get to him.
“He fought. He was courageous and not a coward, as they claim.”
Mr Barghouti said the death would now “expose” Benjamin Netanyahu and his stated aims in the war.
“The big question now is, after Sinwar, with this push for ending this terrible war?
“Will this force Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire? I doubt it, because in my opinion, Netanyahu doesn’t care about the Israeli hostages, he doesn’t care about their lives.
“All he wants is to expand this war and he’s substituting an occupation in the West Bank by enlarging it and making it an occupation of West Bank, the Gaza Strip and big parts of Lebanon, as he hopes.
“He wants to drag the whole region into a terrible regional war, hoping to even drag the United States into a war with Iran.
“The death of Sinwar… will, in my opinion, expose Netanyahu even further as a person who doesn’t want to end this terrible situation.”
The Israeli military says it has killed Hezbollah commander Mohammad Hussein Ramal in an airstrike in Taybeh, southern Lebanon.
The IDF said he was killed in the airstrike directed by troops of the 98th Division.
It added that at the same time, troops of the 7th Armoured Brigade located and destroyed several rocket launchers primed for launch towards northern Israel.
An Al Jazeera journalist who was shot in the neck by an Israeli sniper in Gaza is now in a coma but has not been allowed to leave the enclave for urgent medical treatment, the broadcaster is reporting.
It said cameraman Fadi al-Wahidi was shot as he reported on the Israeli ground invasion of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza earlier this month.
He was wearing protective gear that clearly identified him as a journalist, Al Jazeera added.
Three media freedom organisations have called for him and fellow Al Jazeera cameraman Ali al-Attar to leave Gaza for “lifesaving medical treatment”, but Israeli authorities have not allowed this to happen, the broadcaster said.
Al Jazeera reports that Mr al-Wahidi’s condition had worsened since he was taken to hospital on 9 October.
It added that doctors at the Public Aid Hospital in Gaza City say they are unable to treat him and prevent complete paralysis, with his injuries including damage to his arteries and shattered bones.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, Free Press Unlimited and Reporters Without Borders led a rare joint appeal this week for the two journalists to be allowed to leave for crucial treatment.
“We hold the Israeli government responsible for any deterioration of their conditions caused by this prolonged delay,” the groups said.
They said that despite their multiple appeals, Israeli officials had failed to respond to requests for their safe transfer out of Gaza.
“Ali Al-Attar and Fadi Al Wahidi are journalists who were wounded while performing their essential work of documenting the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” they said.
“The Israeli military’s duty under international humanitarian law is to protect civilians, including journalists, and to ensure the wounded receive timely medical assistance.
“Targeting journalists is a clear violation of international law relating to situations of armed conflict.”
Footage released by the Israeli military shows IDF chiefs visiting the ruins of the house where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed.
It comes after drone footage showed Mr Sinwar’s final moments before his death.
In the video the 62-year-old deemed responsible for last year’s massacre of 1,200 people at the hands of Hamas militants in southern Israel, appears injured in the ruined building.
Sitting on a chair, his face covered in a scarf, he is seen trying to throw an object at the drone.
Welcome back to our live coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East.
Yesterday marked a significant moment in Israel’s year-long war with Hamas as the IDF announced its forces had killed the militant group’s leader Yahya Sinwar.
IDF troops appeared to have run across Sinwar unknowingly during an operation in Gaza before discovering they had killed Israel’s “most-wanted man”.
Benjamin Netanyahu said the killing of Sinwar – a chief architect in last year’s attacks on Israel – meant evil had been dealt a heavy blow, but cautioned it was not the end of the war in Gaza.
He and Joe Biden discussed how to seize on the moment to secure the release of the hostages and bring an end to the conflict, according to the White House.
Hamas is yet to comment on his death, but Iran, which backs the militant group, said it would “strengthen the spirit of resistance”.
Meanwhile, Israel’s assault on Gaza continues, while the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon last night announced a “transition to a new and escalating phase” in its intense conflict with Israel.
We’re pausing our live coverage on the conflicts in the Middle East for now, but we’ll be back in the morning with all the latest updates.
In a huge development, Israel confirmed its military had killed Hamas’s leader Yahya Sinwar in an attack in southern Gaza.
The Israel Defence Forces released a video purporting to show his final moments, in which he can be seen with a bloody arm and trying to throw an object at an Israeli drone.
You can see the clip below…
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “evil had suffered a heavy blow” following Sinwar’s death, but vowed that his country’s mission was still “not complete”.
Addressing the families of the hostages being held by Hamas, Mr Netanyahu said: “We will continue with all our strength until the return home of all your loved ones.”
US President Joe Biden reacted to the news of Sinwar’s death by saying it was a “good day” for Israel, America and the world, while vice president Kamala Harris said there was now an “opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza”.
You can read the latest analysis from our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn about what Sinwar’s death could mean for the war below…
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