Is Yahya Sinwar dead? The expected statement has come from Hamas

The Israeli military had announced yesterday evening that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in an operation conducted in Gaza.

Following the announcement, the Israeli military released footage it claimed showed Sinwar's final moments, in which a drone enters the second floor of a building and captures images of Sinwar, who is seen trying to hide among chairs while holding a large stick.

THE EXPECTED STATEMENT FROM HAMAS HAS ARRIVED

Following successive statements from the Tel Aviv administration, all eyes turned to an official statement from Hamas, and the expected news arrived today.

"SINWAR'S DEATH IS PAINFUL"

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim confirmed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed.

In an interview with CNN, Naim described Sinwar's death as "painful" but stated that Hamas would "ultimately win."

BIDEN: DNA TEST RESULTS CONFIRM HE IS DEAD

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the news announced by the Israeli military, US President Joe Biden also stated, "DNA test results confirm that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead. Today is a good day for the United States, Israel, and the entire world."

WHO IS YAHYA SINWAR?

Hamas Political Bureau Chief Sinwar was born on October 29, 1962, in the Khan Yunis Refugee Camp in the southern Gaza Strip. Like the previous Hamas leader Haniyeh, Sinwar was originally from Askalan (Ashkelon), which remained in territories occupied by Israel in 1948, and he graduated from the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the Islamic University of Gaza.

Sinwar, who was first arrested by Israel in 1982 and served 4 months in prison, was arrested for the second time in 1985 on charges of "establishing a secret organization." When Sinwar was arrested by Israel in 1988, he was sentenced to 4 life terms. Released from Israeli prisons after 23 years as part of a prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel on October 11, 2011, Sinwar became a member of the Hamas political bureau.

According to reports in the Arab press in May 2021, Sinwar had survived an Israeli airstrike. Considered one of the first founders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, Sinwar was also the founder of the Majd Force, which was described as Hamas's security and outreach organization. Sinwar, who took on security responsibilities for Hamas, was known as one of the figures who did not appear much in the media.

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan had requested an arrest warrant for Sinwar from the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I in a video he released in May. Israel had pointed to the new Hamas leader Sinwar as the "number one responsible" for the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023.