This is the moment visibly bloodied Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar feebly throws a stick to defend himself against an IDF drone just seconds before he was assassinated by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Footage captured on the remotely-controlled machine shows Sinwar, who Israel held chiefly responsible for the ‘massacre and atrocities of October 7’, almost camouflaged amid the rubble of a shelled-out building.
But towards the back of what was once a living room area, the drone hones in on Israel’s premier target sitting on a dust-laden chair, his head covered in a scarf to hide his identity.
Sinwar can be seen looking directly at the drone, peaking only through the small gap in the wrapping encasing his face, with his right hand wounded by bullets.
In his left hand, he briefly holds aloft a stick before lobbing it slowly towards the drone.
The footage ends, with Israeli forces fatally striking the building moments later.
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, confirmed the Hamas leader had died and released the footage hours after the assassination took place, The Jerusalem Post reports.
During a press conference on Thursday, he said a drone had identified three terrorists, who were fleeing between buildings in Gaza.
He said: ‘Sinwar fled alone into one of the buildings.
‘Sinwar, who was injured in his hand by gunfire, can be seen here with his face covered, in his final moments, throwing a wooden plank at the drone.
‘We identified him as a terrorist inside a building, fired at the building, and then went in to search.
‘We found him with a vest, a pistol, and 40,000 shekels. He was on the run, fleeing, and our forces eliminated him.’
Hagari added: ‘Sinwar was responsible for the most brutal attack against Israel in our history when terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel, massacred Israelis in their homes, raped our women, burned entire families alive and took over 250 men, women and children, babies, hostage to Gaza.
‘For the past year, Sinwar tried to escape justice. He failed. We said we would find him and bring him to justice, and we did.
‘It was Yahya Sinwar who decided to wage war with Israel while hiding behind civilians in Gaza.’
He added that 101 hostages still remain in captivity in ‘brutal conditions’.
Israel’s foreign minister also confirmed the news on Thursday.
‘Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers,’ Israel Katz said in a statement.
He said Sinwar’s death was ‘a great military and moral achievement for Israel’, adding that his death opens the possibility for the ‘immediate release of the hostages’ and change ‘that will lead to a new reality in Gaza’ without Hamas or Iranian ‘control’.
Troops reported identifying a group of terrorists in a building at an undisclosed location in Gaza. After an exchange of fire, a tank shell was said to have hit the structure and collapsed it.
Graphic images circulated online purporting to show the body of the Hamas leader with Israeli soldiers surrounding it.
Dailymail.
