A video of the Hamas leader’s “last moments” goes viral –

Israeli forces killed the leader of the terrorist organization Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, on Wednesday, October 16. The Israeli soldiers did not know at first that they had killed Sinwar.

The troops noticed only afterwards that the face of one of the men who died in the attack was particularly reminiscent of the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar. The identity emerged from the body’s DNA results later on Thursday.

On Thursday, October 17, the Israeli military released a video shot by a drone that it says shows Sinwar’s last moments.

In the video, the person alleged to be Sinwar is sitting in an armchair in the corner of the bombed apartment. The person in the video appears to have lost his right hand. As the drone approaches, he throws a stick-like object at the drone. Soon after, Sinwar was killed.

– He tried to escape and our forces eliminated him, said Daniel Hagar, a spokesman for the Israeli Armed Forces, according to Reuters on Thursday.

The British broadcasting company BBC has verified the location of the video in the northern part of Rafah. However, there are challenges in confirming the authenticity of the video. The video has still started to spread and with it change the image of Sinwari.

Israeli authorities have believed that Sinwari is hiding in a network of tunnels dug by Hamas under Gaza, surrounded by hostages.

Now Hamas supporters have caught wind of the video published by Israel: if the person shown in the video is really the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, Hamas can use the video in its propaganda, for example to recruit new troops. If the person in the video is really Sinwar, it would seem that Sinwar has not been hiding in the tunnels, at least until the last few moments.

Gun in hand in battle

British newspaper Guardian’s long-time editor, international security correspondent Jason Burke, estimates that Hamas is going crazy over Sinwar’s death.

– Hamas will portray Sinwar as a martyr and frame his death in a way that will inspire new volunteers.

– The fact that [Yahya Sinwar] would seem to have died with a gun in his hand in battle on the front lines will come in handy. Whatever the propaganda, eliminating a respected leader is unlikely to bring in more volunteers.

Burke says Hamas is in dire need of more men for its forces in Gaza, where Hamas has suffered heavy losses.

Several Western leaders have downplayed the progress of peace talks since Sinwar’s death. On the other hand, Iran and Hezbollah, which are on the side of Hamas, announced shortly after Sinwar’s death that his death would strengthen the resistance.

Sinwar was a key figure in the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas.