Full Details' of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar's Demise Revealed

Details are beginning to emerge about the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza following a random encounter with Israeli forces. Local media reported that the event was incidental, as troops on patrol spotting a group of armed people hiding in a nearby building.

They then instructed a tank, part of the L Company squad, to fire on the building. The impact seems to have fatally wounded Sinwar, something that was later confirmed by the 450th infantry battalion upon entering the building. Troops didn't know the Hamas chief was part of the group, something they only found out after searching through the rubble.

Shortly after it became apparent that Sinwar had been killed. Images of the corpse led many to reach the conclusion, focusing his characteristic ears as well as one particular image that showed a big similarity with those of him while still alive and during Hamas events.

Others analyzed his teeth, which also have some characteristic features such a dent in one of his front teeth and a gap in the lower area. A mole on the left side of his face seemed to further confirm his identity. Israeli media and officials later confirmed it was effectively Sinwar.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant seemed to make reference to the killing in an X post of his. "You will pursue your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword." - Leviticus 26. Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them," he said.

Sinwar was both the political and military leader of Hamas after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July. He is also accused of being the mastermind of the October 7 attacks, when some 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. It is estimated that 101 of them remain captive in Gaza, with a third presumed dead.

Sinwar, 61, was nicknamed the "butcher of Khan Younis," the city he was born in, due to his violent and uncompromising nature. He is considered a terrorist by the U.S. and was sanctioned in September of terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions-evasion charges. Hamas is also a designated foreign terrorist organization.

A former terrorism analyst at the Treasury Department said the United States must pressure Qatar to extradite his likely successor to the United States or Israel.

"IF Sinwar is dead, here's what needs to happen: When Qatar-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshal very likely takes over the organization, the US needs to put massive pressure on Doha," Jonathan Schanzer, a senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote on X.

He said Qatar should be "forced to freeze" Meshal's assets and then extradite him to the U.S. or Israel.

"But before he is sent elsewhere to account for his crimes, he must be compelled to surrender on behalf of the Hamas terror organization," Schanzer said.

He said taking Meshal into custody "would mark the end of war in Gaza. It wouldn't mean the end of Hamas. But it could begin a process of de-Hamasification in Gaza."

"In other words, if Sinwar is dead, the last remaining recognizable leader of Hamas is based in a country that is purportedly a US ally," Schanzer said.