A step-by-step rundown of how Israel eliminated Yahya Sinwar

 

The drone spotted a man sitting in a chair.

Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was taken out in a chance encounter Wednesday after a relentless yearlong hunt — which took Israeli troops by such surprise that one of the soldiers involved in the operation even joked about it.

The Israel Defense Forces had been hunting Sinwar, 61, since the terror organization’s deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In recent weeks, the Israel Defense Forces believed their top target was hiding out in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah — but his exact whereabouts were unknown until soldiers sifting through the rubble in the wake of this week’s strike found an eerily familiar-looking corpse.

News quickly began to spread that the mastermind behind the single deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust was dead.

But it seemed so unlikely that the terror chief was taken out in a routine raid by chance, that troops in the IDF unit that unknowingly opened fire on Sinwar joked about it.

“When we heard he was killed, we joked around saying, ‘How crazy would it be if it was us?’” a soldier involved in the Rafah operation told Israel’s Channel 12.

The remains were later confirmed to Sinwar through DNA testing.

Here is how the luckiest terror mission played out.

A regular patrol

The IDF believed Sinwar was hiding out in Tal al-Sultan.

A unit from the Israel Defense Forces’ 828th Bislamach Brigade was patrolling the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah on Wednesday.

The unit is a training battalion that was on a regular patrol in Rafah searching for Hamas tunnels

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Sudden movement

The IDF spotted a man running alone into a building, and followed him with a drone.IDF

The drone spotted three men running from house to house, the IDF said.IDF

The IDF troops spotted three suspicious men running from house to house, and engaged them, according to IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari.

One man “ran alone into one of the buildings,” Hagari explained. The troops sent a drone into the second floor of the structure to investigate the scene.

Target spotted

The drone spotted a man sitting in a chair.IDF

Sinwar was spotted with a cloth over his face inside the building.IDF

Sinwar was spotted by the drone sitting in the chair and holding a stick.IDF

Yahya Sinwar threw stick at drone just before his death, footage showed.IDF

A man later identified as Sinwar was spotted by the drone sitting alone in a chair. His face was covered with a cloth, and his arm appeared wounded.

The man weakly tossed a piece of wood at the drone in a last-ditch attempt to knock it down.

Move to strike

The IDF ordered a tank (seen in the upper left) strike on the building.IDF

Smoke seen billowing out from where the building was shelled by the IDF.IDF

The IDF called for a tank to launch a shell into the building. Within moments, smoke was seen coming from the second floor, and the building collapsed.

At the time, the Israeli military had no idea who the man in the building was.

A shocking discovery

The patrol continued, and the troops didn’t return to the spot until Thursday morning. In the rubble of the building, they found the body of the man and noted his resemblance to Sinwar.  They took pictures of his teeth and part of his finger was removed for DNA testing.

The IDF continued its patrol of the area and did not return to the spot until Thursday morning. When they arrived, they found the body of a man in the rubble who bore a noted resemblance to Sinwar.

All the IDF soldiers walk around with Sinwar’s picture, an IDF spokesperson said.

The terrorist leader – who appeared to have a massive head injury – was given away by his distinctive ears, the Times of London reported.

Identifying the body

Soldiers from the 450th Infantry Battalion gathered forensic evidence from the body, which was dressed in combat fatigues.

Part of one of the corpse’s fingers was removed for DNA testing, and the remains were extensively photographed.

The soldiers were specifically instructed to document the Sinwar’s yellowing teeth, according to the Times of London.

Final inventory

There was a cache of weapons inside the building where Sinwar was killed.IDF

On Sinwar’s body they found 40,000 shekels ($10,000) and an ID for a United Nations Relief and Works Agency teacher.IDF

The soldiers found 40,000 shekels ($10,000) and an ID for a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) teacher on Sinwar’s body. Inside the building, they also uncovered a cache of weapons.

Meanwhile, photos of what appeared to be Sinwar’s body leaked online, forcing the Israeli government to acknowledge that the Hamas leader may have been killed.

The DNA results later confirmed that the remains belonged to Sinwar.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the killing would mark a turning point in the year-long Israel-Hamas war, though a senior Hamas official said the group would only get stronger in the wake of its loss.