Yahya Sinwar Dead: How Israel Confirmed Identity of Hamas Leader Who Masterminded Oct 7 Attacks

Sinwar was chosen as Hamas's top leader in July after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran. (Reuters file)

Before Sinwar's identity was confirmed, photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling the Hamas leader with a gaping head wound, dressed in a military-style vest, half buried in the rubble of a destroyed building

Israeli forces on Thursday killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7 attacks last year, “by chance” as soldiers did not know if the leader of Palestine group was present at the spot of their operation.

Troops appeared to have run across him in a battle, only to discover afterwards that a body in the rubble was the man Israel has hunted for more than a year. The military confirmed Sinwar’s death after conducting DNA and other tests on a body that it said was among three militants killed Wednesday during operations in Gaza.

Dental records helped Israel to identifying Sinwar’s body, according to a US official and a former official familiar with the situation, along with other biometric data. The official noted that the dental verification process was completed fairly swiftly. The Israeli government has access to Sinwar’s biometrics due to his more than twenty years of imprisonment in Israel for murder, CNN reported.

Before Sinwar’s identity was confirmed, photos circulating online showed the body of a man resembling the Hamas leader with a gaping head wound, dressed in a military-style vest, half buried in the rubble of a destroyed building. The security official confirmed the photos were taken by Israeli security officials at the scene.

The Israeli news site N12 said Sinwar appears to have been killed “by chance” in a battle on Wednesday. It said that troops tracked a group of militants into a building, then attacked the militants with tank fire, causing the building to collapse. As troops unearthed the dead militants, they noticed that one appeared to resemble Sinwar.

Sinwar was chosen as Hamas’s top leader in July after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran. Israel has also claimed to have killed the head of Hamas’ military wing Mohammed Deif in an airstrike, but the group has said he survived.

The report of his death came as Israeli forces continued a more than week-old major air and ground assault in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a school sheltering displaced Palestinians, killing at least 28 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

(With inputs from agencies)