Hamas Chief Killed in IDF Strikes? Israeli Intel Probes Yahya Sinwar’s Sudden Disappearance

New Delhi: Amid the escalating Gaza crisis which has pushed the Middle East on the brink of a all-out war, Israel has launched an investigation to ascertain the possibility of death Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar who has reportedly been "incommunicado" for a quite a long time. 

Israeli intel is probing the possibility of killing of Sinwar in a rocket strike on Saturday that targeted a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, a media report said.

No Concrete Evidence to Back This Claim

According to Israeli military, the attack hit a Hamas command centre, but Palestinian health authorities said that women and children were among the 22 people killed in the strike. However, no evidence has been found so far that can indicate the Hamas leader's death. Meanwhile, No official statement by Israel is issued about any such probe.  Israel's Shin Bet agency believes that Sinwar is alive. 

According to media reports, Israel has lately bombarded several tunnels in areas where Sinwar was suspected to be hiding. Hence, it is unknown whether Sinwar was hit in any of the strikes or if he could deliberatly be keeping a low profile. 

Since the October 7 attack, Israel has taken down many key figures within Hamas, including the group's military wing chief, Muhammad Deif, and Khan Younis Brigade chief, Rafa'a Salameh. Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri were also killed in drone strikes in Iran and Beirut, respectively, earlier this year. Media reports suggest that Sinwar and his brother Muhammad remained high-value targets for Israeli forces, yet attempts to locate them have proven futile.

Israel has maintained from the very beginning that the Hamas leader behind plotting the deadly October 7 attack on Israel that left over 1200 people dead and hundreds injured.

Sinwar, who is known to keep a low profile, was named Hamas chief after his predecessor, the group’s political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated on July 31 in Tehran where he was present to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Earlier, media reports, citing Israeli intelligence, had claimed that Yahya Sinwar was hiding among Palestinians dressing as a woman. Sinwar, Assassinated Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh's successor, who fares up in the list of Israeli targets to be eliminated, left the comforts of tunnels in Gaza to camouflage in public, the reports has claimed.