Israel releases footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's movement inside Gaza tunnel hours before Oct 7 attack last year

Taking it to X, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) released the following Sinwar's execution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, during a firefight that ended with the Hamas leader being cornered and alone in a destroyed building.

The footage shows Sinwar along with his wife and children moving belongings, including a television, water, pillows, and mattresses, into the tunnel that Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said was located under the family home in Khan Younis.

"Sinwar hours before the October 7 massacre: taking down his TV into his tunnel, hiding underneath his civilians, and preparing to watch his terrorists murder, kindap and rape," the IDF X post read.

On Friday, Hamas too confirmed that its leader Yahya Sinwar, who was the architect of the group's cross-border raids on October 7, 2023, which became the deadliest day in Israel's history, was killed in combat action, media reports said.

Soon after confirming the death, Hamas  Friday said it won't release hostages until Israel ends its war on Gaza, withdraws from the territory and frees jailed Palestinians.

The execution of Sinwar is a major boost to the Israeli military and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after a string of high-profile assassinations of prominent Hamas leaders in recent months.

Yahya Sinwar, the chief architect of the Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, has been at the top of Israel's wanted list ever since. But he had managed to elude detection by possibly hiding in the warren of tunnels that Hamas has built under Gaza over the past two decades.

Previously leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, he was named as its overall leader following the assassination of former political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in August.

Last month, Israel also killed Hasan Nasrallah, leader of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement, in Beirut besides executing many of the group's top leadership.

Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages into Gaza. In a retaliatory action, Israel has killed more than 42,000 people, turned much of Gaza into rubble, and displaced most of its population.