IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari spoke Saturday night about Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and his last steps prior to the October 7 massacre.
"Yahya Sinwar spent years planning the October 7 attack," Hagari stressed. "Each step was planned to maximize harm to Israeli and Gaza civilians, and to minimize harm to himself and other terrorists. See for yourselves: This is footage of Sinwar, just hours before the October 7 massacre, where Sinwar was hiding his family - and equipment, including beds, pillows, food, and water, and a television - he was hiding it inside Hamas' underground tunnel network. He was doing that all night long with his family, in order to keep his position classified. It was all happening in Khan Yunis."
"This was a luxury that the people of Gaza did not have. Sinwar always prioritized himself, his money, and Hamas terrorists over the people of Gaza. While hiding in the tunnels of Khan Yunis, Sinwar ordered the October 7 attack to begin."
"After they invaded Israel, Sinwar's army of terrorists murdered families, raped women, and kidnapped men, women, children, and babies into Gaza. 101 of these hostages are still held in Gaza, after a year in captivity under ruthless conditions. Throughout the war that Sinwar started, he continued to hide underneath the people of Gaza. In Khan Yunis in February, our troops found supplies meant for a long stay in Sinwar's underground hideout, including a lot of money, food, beds, documents, a shower, and a kitchen. Then, IDF operations in Khan Yunis forced Sinwar to flee to Rafah.
"Last month, Sinwar's DNA was found on a piece of tissue he used - a few hundred meters from a tunnel where six Israeli hostages were brutally executed in Tel Sultan in Rafah. Then, Sinwar fled yet again. While Sinwar was running for his life and went above the ground, this was the first and last time that he encountered Israeli soldiers in combat. Sinwar was eliminated by the IDF in Rafah last Wednesday. I want to emphasize it again: This was the first and last time he encountered Israeli soldiers, and he was eliminated. There were no hostages with Sinwar when he was eliminated.
"Killing Sinwar is the result of a year of operational and intelligence efforts to bring him and other Hamas leaders to justice. Sinwar has been eliminated, but our mission is not over. We will not rest until we bring all our hostages home, by any means possible. And we will continue to defend the people of Israel from all threats, on all of our borders."