An official claims that Israel is using DNA testing on a cadaver from Gaza to determine whether it belongs to Sinwar, the top leader of Hamas.
According to the Israeli military, it is investigating if Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was killed during a military operation in Gaza.
Three militants were slain during operations in Gaza, the military said in a statement, although it did not say where or provide any other details. It stated that while the three's names had not yet been verified, it was "checking the possibility" that one of them was Sinwar.
The tests on the body have not yet determined whether it was Sinwar's, according to the security officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the allegation.
Since the start of its retaliatory campaign in Gaza, Israel has pledged to murder Sinwar, who was one of the main planners of Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. If verified, Sinwar's passing might deal the terrorist organization a serious blow. For years, he has served as Hamas' principal leader inside the Gaza Strip, forging strong relations with the group's military arm and significantly enhancing its capabilities.
According to a different Israeli security official, the individual who might have been Sinwar was killed in combat rather than in a prearranged targeted bombing.
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| The helpless people of Gaza |
Images that went viral online showed the body of a man who looked like Sinwar, partially buried in the wreckage of a building that had been destroyed, wearing a military vest, and with a large wound on his head. The security official attested that the images were captured by Israeli security personnel present at the location. Due to the continuing inquiry, the official spoke on condition of anonymity.
According to Israeli officials, a variety of tests were being used by the military, police, and Shin Bet security services to verify identification. According to a police spokesperson, authorities have examined dental data thus far. The complete findings of the DNA test are still pending.
Israeli authorities have a wealth of medical information pertaining to Sinwar's treatment for brain cancer while he was detained by Israel from the late 1980s until 2011.
According to a senior administration official, U.S. officials have been in close communication with Israeli authorities throughout Thursday morning, and President Joe Biden has been briefed on Israel's probe into whether it killed Sinwar.
After his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in what appeared to be an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, in July, Sinwar was selected as Hamas's top leader. Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas' military wing, was allegedly killed by Israel in an airstrike, while the group claims he survived.
His death was reported as Israeli forces carried out a significant air and ground attack in the northern Gazan refugee camp of Jabaliya that had been going on for more than a week. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, an Israeli strike on a school that was providing shelter to displaced Palestinians on Thursday killed at least 28 individuals.
The head of the Gaza Health Ministry's emergency unit in the north, Fares Abu Hamza, corrected a previous report that indicated five children were among the deceased, saying that a lady and four children were among them. Dozens of individuals were injured, he said.
According to the Israeli military, it targeted a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command center located within the school. Around a dozen identities of individuals it recognized as militants who were there when the strike was called in were listed. The names could not be confirmed right away.
Israel has frequently attacked schools and tent camps in Gaza that provide shelter to displaced people. Although the Israeli military claims to attack militants precisely and to try to prevent civilian casualties, its strikes frequently result in the deaths of women and children.
After the militants invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and kidnapping about 250 more, Israel began its war to eradicate Hamas in Gaza. About one-third of the 100 prisoners who are still in Gaza are thought to be dead.
Gaza's Health Ministry reports that more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's operation. It claims that women and children account for slightly more than half of the deaths, but it makes no distinction between combatants and civilians.
Nearly a year ago, Israel launched its ground invasion of northern Gaza, which has seen the most devastation of the conflict, with entire neighborhoods in Gaza City and other cities reduced to ruins. About 400,000 people are said to have stayed despite the difficult circumstances, although the majority left when Israel issued evacuation orders in the early days of the conflict.
Israel once again ordered the complete evacuation of the north earlier this month and prohibited the entry of food supplies for around two weeks. Many Palestinians were afraid that it had adopted the surrender-or-starve policy that former Israeli generals had recommended.
After the United States threatened to cut military aid if its ally did not take more action to solve the humanitarian crisis, Israel permitted two relief shipments to enter the north earlier this week.
Israeli soldiers have repeatedly invaded Jabaliya, a heavily populated urban refugee camp that dates back to the 1948 battle surrounding the founding of Israel, since the conflict began. The military claims that following significant operations, insurgents have frequently reunited there.
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