For weeks, IDF troops from the Nahal Brigade and the 828th (Bislamach) Brigade have been fighting in Rafah, closely cooperating with the Shin Bet. The Bislach combat team operating in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood identified several suspects, and during the ensuing battle, they discovered they had killed the notorious Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
On Friday, IDF forces encountered two terrorists around the house where Sinwar was located, one possibly part of the group that accompanied Sinwar in his final hours.
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IDF troops during the shelling of the building in which Yahya Sinwar was located
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
A preliminary IDF investigation revealed that on Wednesday morning, around 10 am, a soldier from the 450th Battalion spotted two suspicious figures moving between the ruins of the neighborhood.
He reported the sighting, and Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Ran Canaan advanced with infantry and armored forces. He observed three suspicious individuals—two walking ahead, wrapped in blankets, and a third trailing behind, wearing a combat vest and armed, with a hood covering his head. Initially, there was concern that the two figures could be hostages, and the commander opened fire at the third individual, identified as a terrorist, hitting his hand. At this point, no one realized the terrorists was Sinwar. Contrary to earlier claims, Sinwar did not lose his hand. “He’s no Trumpeldor,” IDF officials remarked.
At that moment, the terrorists split up. Two entered a nearby house, while the third, later confirmed as Sinwar, fled to another. The two fired back at the IDF forces, critically wounding a soldier from the 450th Battalion, who was airlifted to the hospital and has since improved.
The battalion commander called in reinforcements to check the house where Sinwar had fled. Bloodstains were found on the stairs, and the commander realized it was fresh blood. Sinwar threw two grenades from a window, one of which exploded but caused no injuries.
The IDF forces shelled the building with tank fire, missiles, and machine guns, still unaware of Sinwar’s identity. After the first shelling, a drone was sent inside and captured footage of Sinwar, wounded, sitting on a couch and throwing a stick at the drone.
IDF drone footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's last moments
(Video: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)
By this point, it was 4 pm—six hours after the operation had begun. A second shell was fired, along with heavy machine-gun fire, which ultimately killed him. The unit continued its heavy bombardment until part of the building collapsed.
Later that evening, another drone was sent into the building and spotted a body, though it couldn’t yet be identified. The decision was made to wait until daylight to enter. Around midnight, another terrorist was spotted in a lookout post and was killed. By Thursday morning, when another drone was flown inside, the forces noticed the body bore a resemblance to Sinwar. Photos were sent to the Southern Command headquarters, and a senior officer shared them with his counterpart at the Shin Bet’s operations division, asking, “Do you recognize him?”
Shin Bet operational teams arrived at the scene and began forensic tests to confirm Sinwar’s identity. When Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman arrived on-site and saw the body with his own eyes, he immediately realized it was Sinwar.
According to the IDF, "This operation followed several months of fighting during which the IDF, in cooperation with the Shin Bet and led by the 162nd Division, fought against the Rafah Brigade and the Tel al-Sultan Battalion, eliminating hundreds of terrorists. These actions cornered Sinwar, preventing his escape and setting the stage for his elimination."
Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman praised the soldiers, saying, “Your persistence, patience, analysis of the terrain, vigilance, and pursuit of contact—engaging them and opening fire—made a significant impact. Your determination, systematic searches, and refusal to give up finding each of them one by one, led to this moment. When the opportunity came, you acted with operational alertness, engaged, took them down, and quickly closed the circle. This is how it should be. Here in Rafah, in Tel al-Sultan, we did it, and we’ll continue to do so everywhere. You have earned great respect for that."
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