Hamas chief Mohammed Sinwar was killed after leaving ‘human shield’ hostages – report

The de facto Hamas head usually had a protective “belt” of hostages to ensure his safety, but left them behind to meet senior staff.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The IDF’s successful assassination of de facto Hamas head Mohammed Sinwar 12 days ago was greenlit as soon as intelligence reports indicated he was not surrounded by his usual protective “belt” of hostages, Israel’s Channel 12 TV reported on Friday.

“No risks are taken if there’s even a small chance of even one percent that hostages are in the area,” a security source told the media outlet.

Sinwar knew this and kept at least some hostages nearby all the time.

Known as “The Shadow” for the low profile he kept as he pulled strings behind the scenes, he became even more elusive after his brother Yahya, Hamas leader and mastermind of the October 7 invasion and massacre that sparked the ongoing war, was killed by IDF troops in October.

Very few people knew his whereabouts at any given moment or how to contact him.

Still, Israel was able to track his movements, according to a Friday report in the Wall Street Journal, and the army grabbed the chance it was given when Sinwar made an exception and decided to meet alone with several senior commanders in an underground command hub beneath the European Hospital in Khan Yunis.

“The meeting went beyond the terrorist organization’s strict security guidelines, and Israel had a golden opportunity to ‘cut off several heads’ in one fell swoop,” WSJ said, adding that the precision and timing of the attack showed that Israel had some impressive intelligence capabilities in Gaza.

The report said that the purpose of the meeting was to formulate Hamas’ position in the ceasefire talks that were taking place in Doha, Qatar, at the time.

Ten of top Sinwar’s aides were killed along with him, including the Rafah Brigade Commander Muhammad Shabana, according to the Saudi Al-Arabiya outlet, when Israeli jets dropped a series of bunker-busting bombs on the underground compound as well as on all the entrances and exits, to prevent anyone from escaping and any rescuers from getting inside.

WSJ said that Sinwar’s body was found the day after the attack and secretly buried in another tunnel.

There are very few senior Hamas commanders left after this airstrike to take leadership of the Gazan terror organization.

According to most reports, the top contender is Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, a former Gaza City Brigade commander who has been in charge of the northern Gaza sector since last June.

As a senior member of Hamas’ inner council, Al-Haddad has been the target of several Israeli assassination attempts, going back to 2008.

He was intimately involved in the planning of the October 7 Hamas-led invasion, and one month later Israel offered a $750,000 reward for information leading to his capture or death.