Israel dropped leaflets on southern Gaza showing an image of the deceased Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwarwith the message that “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza,” echoing language used by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Whoever drops the weapon and hands over the hostages will be able to leave and live in peace,” said the leaflet, written in Arabic, according to residents of the southern city of Khan Yunis.
The text of the pamphlet was part of a statement by Netanyahu on Thursday. after Sinwar’s death by Israeli soldiers operating in Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
On Saturday afternoon, the IDF released a never-before-seen video of Sinwar, recorded just hours before the massacre carried out by the Palestinian group October 7in a tunnel in Khan Yunis, south of Gaza, hiding with his family and gathering food and blankets. “The recording was found a few months ago by the armed forces,” explained Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari at a press conference.
UNEDITED MATERIAL: Yahya Sinwar escaping through a tunnel hours before the October 7 massacre. pic.twitter.com/YfigzdJlCi
– IDE (@FDIonline) October 19, 2024
In the video, Sinwar appears accompanied by his wife and son walking through a tunnel while they carry food, water and blankets.
In January, Israel also released images of Sinwar walking through the tunnels with his family days after the attack. At the time, these were the only images Israel had of the whereabouts of the man also considered the mastermind of the October 7 attacks.
The army confirmed Sinwar’s death on Thursday, after launching a military operation against him the day before in Rafah, in the far south of the enclave.
“Yahya Sinwar was eliminated after hiding last year behind the civilian population of Gaza, both on the surface and underground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip,” the military statement details.
His death marks a before and after in the course of the regional conflict: not only was the elimination of “Israel’s most wanted man” achieved, but the Palestinian Islamist group was beheaded, since Sinwar was the one of the few survivors of the conflict. Hamas hierarchy, following the assassinations of political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and military leader Mohamed Deif this summer.
