Sinwar Killed by Gunshot, Israeli Autopsy Finds
The director of Israel’s national forensic institute, Dr. Chen Kugel, oversaw the autopsy and described its findings in an interview with The New York Times on Friday.
Image
Yahya Sinwar walks in front of others wearing a blue shirt and blazer. Sinwar has grey short hair and beard.
Yahya Sinwar in Gaza City in April 2023. Israeli troops’ discovery of his body Wednesday after a firefight in Gaza came as a surprise.Credit...Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
Aaron BoxermanRonen Bergman
By Aaron Boxerman and Ronen Bergman
Reporting from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Oct. 18, 2024, 1:18 p.m. ET
The fatal blow to the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, was a gunshot wound to the head, the Israeli autopsy of his body found.
He was earlier hit in the arm during a firefight with Israeli soldiers.
On a routine operation, a unit of commanders in training encountered a group of militants on the streets of Rafah in southern Gaza. They didn’t know at the time that the group included Mr. Sinwar.
Two militants fled into one building, while a third, who would later turn out to be Mr. Sinwar, entered another, triggering an hourslong firefight, according to the Israeli military.
During the encounter, shrapnel, possibly from either a small missile or tank shell hit Mr. Sinwar on his right arm and wounded him, the director of Israel’s national forensic institute, Dr. Chen Kugel, who oversaw the autopsy and described its findings in an interview with The New York Times on Friday.
At some point, Mr. Sinwar tied an electric cable around his wounded arm, in what appears to be a makeshift tourniquet to staunch the bleeding, Dr. Kugel added. “But it wouldn’t have worked in any case,” he said. “It wasn’t strong enough, and his forearm was smashed.”
An Israeli drone that was flown into the building where Mr. Sinwar had fled captured what the Israeli military said were the “moments before his elimination.”
Middle East Crisis: Live Updates
Updated
Oct. 18, 2024, 1:18 p.m. ETJust Now
An Israeli autopsy finds that Yahya Sinwar was killed by a gunshot to the head.
For the Israeli who once saved Sinwar’s life, there is no joy in his death.
In Gaza, Yahya Sinwar’s death brings relief and glimmers of hope.
The video, edited and released by the military, shows a man sitting in a chair, covered in dust. The man, identified as Mr. Sinwar by the military, watches the drone for at least 20 seconds before throwing what appears to be a stick in its direction.
The Times could not independently verify the identity of the man. Elements of the video match those of other photographs obtained by The Times showing the corpse of Mr. Sinwar.
Mr. Sinwar was later shot in the head, killing him, Dr. Kugel said. Other points remain unclear, including when the fatal shot was fired, what weapon was used and who fired it.
The following morning, his body was found in the rubble of the building, which had partially collapsed following shelling, according to Israeli officials. Soldiers at the site realized the militant bore a striking resemblance to Mr. Sinwar.
The soldiers cut off one of his fingers so that health officials could establish his identity, Dr. Kugel said. The body arrived at the national forensic institute on Thursday night for the autopsy.
The institute director said that Mr. Sinwar was relatively pale, which would make sense for someone who had spent long stretches of time in Hamas’s underground tunnel network, as is believed. He was at a healthy weight — over 150 pounds — and showed no signs of malnutrition, Dr. Kugel added.
For Dr. Kugel, the autopsy was the closing of a painful circle that began during last year’s Hamas attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed. In its wake, an endless tide of victims flooded into Israel’s forensic institute.
Now Mr. Sinwar, the architect of the attack, lay on his table.
Dr. Kugel performed his work as he had done many times before. “It was only when I stepped outside that I internalized that this was the man responsible for more murder than anyone in the history of the country,” he said.
After the autopsy was complete, the body was handed over to the Israeli military, Dr. Kugel said. Israel holds the corpses of hundreds of Palestinians that it hopes to one day use for a future exchange with Hamas and other armed groups.
Aaron Boxerman reported from Jerusalem, and Ronen Bergman from Tel Aviv. Aric Toler, Riley Mellen and Christiaan Triebertcontributed reporting.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem. More about Aaron Boxerman
Ronen Bergman is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, based in Tel Aviv. His latest book is “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations,” published by Random House. More about Ronen Bergman
Sinwar Killed by Gunshot, Israeli Autopsy Finds
The director of Israel’s national forensic institute, Dr. Chen Kugel, oversaw the autopsy and described its findings in an interview with The New York Times on Friday.
Image
Yahya Sinwar walks in front of others wearing a blue shirt and blazer. Sinwar has grey short hair and beard.
Yahya Sinwar in Gaza City in April 2023. Israeli troops’ discovery of his body Wednesday after a firefight in Gaza came as a surprise.Credit...Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times
Aaron BoxermanRonen Bergman
By Aaron Boxerman and Ronen Bergman
Reporting from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Oct. 18, 2024, 1:18 p.m. ET
The fatal blow to the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, was a gunshot wound to the head, the Israeli autopsy of his body found.
He was earlier hit in the arm during a firefight with Israeli soldiers.
On a routine operation, a unit of commanders in training encountered a group of militants on the streets of Rafah in southern Gaza. They didn’t know at the time that the group included Mr. Sinwar.
Two militants fled into one building, while a third, who would later turn out to be Mr. Sinwar, entered another, triggering an hourslong firefight, according to the Israeli military.
During the encounter, shrapnel, possibly from either a small missile or tank shell hit Mr. Sinwar on his right arm and wounded him, the director of Israel’s national forensic institute, Dr. Chen Kugel, who oversaw the autopsy and described its findings in an interview with The New York Times on Friday.
At some point, Mr. Sinwar tied an electric cable around his wounded arm, in what appears to be a makeshift tourniquet to staunch the bleeding, Dr. Kugel added. “But it wouldn’t have worked in any case,” he said. “It wasn’t strong enough, and his forearm was smashed.”
An Israeli drone that was flown into the building where Mr. Sinwar had fled captured what the Israeli military said were the “moments before his elimination.”
Middle East Crisis: Live Updates
Updated
Oct. 18, 2024, 1:18 p.m. ETJust Now
An Israeli autopsy finds that Yahya Sinwar was killed by a gunshot to the head.
For the Israeli who once saved Sinwar’s life, there is no joy in his death.
In Gaza, Yahya Sinwar’s death brings relief and glimmers of hope.
The video, edited and released by the military, shows a man sitting in a chair, covered in dust. The man, identified as Mr. Sinwar by the military, watches the drone for at least 20 seconds before throwing what appears to be a stick in its direction.
The Times could not independently verify the identity of the man. Elements of the video match those of other photographs obtained by The Times showing the corpse of Mr. Sinwar.
Mr. Sinwar was later shot in the head, killing him, Dr. Kugel said. Other points remain unclear, including when the fatal shot was fired, what weapon was used and who fired it.
The following morning, his body was found in the rubble of the building, which had partially collapsed following shelling, according to Israeli officials. Soldiers at the site realized the militant bore a striking resemblance to Mr. Sinwar.
The soldiers cut off one of his fingers so that health officials could establish his identity, Dr. Kugel said. The body arrived at the national forensic institute on Thursday night for the autopsy.
The institute director said that Mr. Sinwar was relatively pale, which would make sense for someone who had spent long stretches of time in Hamas’s underground tunnel network, as is believed. He was at a healthy weight — over 150 pounds — and showed no signs of malnutrition, Dr. Kugel added.
For Dr. Kugel, the autopsy was the closing of a painful circle that began during last year’s Hamas attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed. In its wake, an endless tide of victims flooded into Israel’s forensic institute.
Now Mr. Sinwar, the architect of the attack, lay on his table.
Dr. Kugel performed his work as he had done many times before. “It was only when I stepped outside that I internalized that this was the man responsible for more murder than anyone in the history of the country,” he said.
After the autopsy was complete, the body was handed over to the Israeli military, Dr. Kugel said. Israel holds the corpses of hundreds of Palestinians that it hopes to one day use for a future exchange with Hamas and other armed groups.
Aaron Boxerman reported from Jerusalem, and Ronen Bergman from Tel Aviv. Aric Toler, Riley Mellen and Christiaan Triebertcontributed reporting.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem. More about Aaron Boxerman
Ronen Bergman is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, based in Tel Aviv. His latest book is “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations,” published by Random House. More about Ronen Bergman