More details on the ignominious death of Sinwar
From the British press:
A unit from the IDF’s 828th Bislamach Brigade was patrolling Tal al-Sultan, an area of Rafah, on Wednesday morning, when it came across a group of three Hamas fighters in the street and engaged them in a firefight.
The terrorists were ‘on the run’ moving from house to house, the IDF said, and became split up.
One of them, since identified as Sinwar, ‘ran alone into one of the buildings’. He went up to the second floor, and troops responded by firing a tank shell in his direction.
So – if that account is correct – it explains how Sinwar was originally identified as a terrorist, and why he ended up alone in the building where he ultimately died. Apparently he and the other two had been on the move.
Grenades were thrown at the IDF troops (it’s not clear from where), and then they decided to send a drone into the building into which the man later identified as Sinwar had gone. That’s how we got that amazing drone footage of him sitting in a chair, with a hand wounded from the gun battle in the street, looking at the drone and throwing something at it that appeared to be a stick.
And then:
Two 120mm tank shells slammed into the building, as well as a surface-to-surface Matador missile, according to Israeli reports, with shrapnel scything across the upper floors and killing Sinwar.
Unaware they had taken out Israel’s prime target, the soldiers did not return to the site until Thursday morning, when soldiers from the 450th Infantry Battalion were sent in to get a closer look.
So there was a delay, and then a different unit was the one that uncovered the body and recognized that it could be Sinwar. Also:
He was found with a weapon, a flak jacket and 40,000 shekels (£8,250).
‘Yahya Sinouar had a lot of cash and fake passports on him, he was ready to flee,’ Israeli army spokesman Colonel Olivier Rafowicz told French outlet CNEWS this morning.
He claimed that the items Sinwar had on him, which allegedly also included a card from UNRWA, the UN aid for Palestinian refugees, ‘may show that he was ready to flee and leave Gaza and his men behind.’
During his many years in Israeli prisons, Sinwar learned to speak fluent Hebrew. He could have fled to Israel, perhaps, and organized something horrific there. There are other possibilities as well, of course – Iran or Qatar come immediately to mind. But the shekels are interesting.
The details of Sinwar’s death are sordid and ignominious, far from glorious. That makes it harder for Hamas to present him as some sort of hero. I continue to wonder what percentage of Gaza’s population is rejoicing at the news. Israel has offered evidence that at least some people were happy. And then there’s this:
An opinion poll published in mid-September by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), a think tank based in Ramallah and funded by Western donors, showed for the first time the majority of Gazans opposed the decision to attack Israel on October 7.
The poll, conducted in early September, found that 57% of people surveyed in the Gaza Strip said the decision to launch the offensive was incorrect, while just 39% said it was correct – down sharply from the previous poll in June.
Hamas has long been accused of crushing dissent in Gaza with beatings or worse. But recent months have seen some rare public displays of dissent.
This isn’t evidence of any newfound love of Israel. But it’s still an important thing if most Gazans come to think that the war against Israel was a bad move, and that it is they who have suffered a result, and will suffer from any future such aggression on their part.
Would like that Left Ear as a souvenir, but would settle for the right one.
There’s a saying or quote about being judged by how well you enemy can fight—can’t find it now so maybe I imagined it. Lots of similar quotes but not the one was looking for…
‘Anyway‘, hate to see a murderous man begging for his lift – Sinwar looked to have more than a hand wound, as his right shoulder and arm looked lifeless. Hunched over ‘n looking weak—maybe another wound elsewhere, but still managed to gather enough strength to grab a stick and toss it at the drone.
OK—would settle for a tooth…
During his many years in Israeli prisons, Sinwar learned to speak fluent Hebrew.
–neo
Arabic and Hebrew are relatively close as languages. Knowing one is a leg up to learning the other.
Both share the same right-to-left writing system (as opposed to left-to-right as in English and Romance languages) though the scripts are different enough that it’s not a slam-dunk to go from one to the other.
I saw some news video that claimed that Sinwar left the tunnel system because Israel had destroyed and cut off so much of it that the tunnel system was no longer safe to hide in. For escape, tunnels to Egypt were no longer a viable option, so escape had to be aboveground.
Some Instapundit commenter quoted Jack Nicklaus: “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” That is, while the killing of Sinwar was serendipity from a grunt soldier, all the IDF efforts to target Sinwar, damage the tunnel system, and go after Hamas combatants aboveground led to his killing. No effort, no killing.
The poll, conducted in early September, found that 57% of people surveyed in the Gaza Strip said the decision to launch the offensive was incorrect, while just 39% said it was correct – down sharply from the previous poll in June.
==
It would help the Arabs on the West Bank and Gaza if they developed an allergy to magical thinking. Not happening yet.
Art Deco
Polls also indicate that support for the October 7 attack has been consistently higher in the West Bank than in Gaza. As a consequence of Israeli attacks on Hamas combatants, Gazans have seen the mass destruction of their dwellings. Unsurprisingly, this has acted as an impediment to magical thinking. The West Bank is intact compared to what it was a year ago. It’s a lot easier to support the October 7 attacks if your dwelling hasn’t been destroyed as a consequence of Israeli response to October 7.
So tal al sultan is right on the border with egypt so my conjecture of where he has been hiding might have been right
Did he come in from the tunnels from the street why was there such a small cadre around him
The camp had been struck about four months ago
All thats left is where are those remaining hostages
Incorrect
Gaza 57%
West Bank 21%
Correct
Gaza 39%
West Bank 64%
Much easier to support Hamas if you don’t have any skin in the game, such as your dwelling.
https://www.pcpsr.org/sites/default/files/Poll%2093%20English%20press%20release%2017_Sept2024.pdf
Two conjectures: 1)losing support.
2) A large cadre would attract more Israeli attention.
I vote for 2.
So much for the ” blaze of glory”. A rather grubby end.
Where has he been since he was spotted in the tunnels eight months ago
The west bank has not be the subjecf of an offensive since 21 in large part
I’ve seen written somewhere Miguel that the IDF had closely held bits of evidence that Sinwar was with the six executed hostages a few weeks ago; that he’d been spooked at near approach by IDF and fled, giving the execution order then.
Though there was talk about the dna left by the triggermen, who were subsequently hunted down and killed, there were only whispers about Sinwar’s presence in that tunnel, no shouting about it. That would stand to reason though, as not the sort of thing the hunters wanted to broadcast.
Apparently he then disappeared for this intervening time; there simply isn’t much detail of the intel picture available yet, if it ever comes out.
Israel has been on a huge roll. The left will surely shut them down soon. Biden and Harris are sure trying.
Iran is a cornered rat at this point, praying that they don’t do the unthinkable. They may be waiting to see the results of our election. If Trump wins, their benefactors will no longer be in a position to help them financially.
Re: Sinwar
Next!
Miguel cervantes
Where has he been since he was spotted in the tunnels eight months ago
NYT: Sinwar’s Final Moments: On the Run, Hurt, Alone, but Still Defiant. Excerpts:
My Magic 8 Ball says that, when the Israelis finally complete the deHamas-ification of Gaza, polls will show that no one there supported the October 7 massacres.
@ Gringo > “NYT: Sinwar’s Final Moments: On the Run, Hurt, Alone, but Still Defiant.”
I always wonder how the “top” news media outlets manage to get so much detailed information organized into a story so quickly after a major event.
Do they have on-going leaks that they sit on until a block-buster scoop is possible?
Do their stringers have that many close contacts on the “inside” who are willing to provide details immediately?
Some of both? Other methods?
Inquiring minds would really like to know.
AesopFan
My Magic 8 Ball says that, when the Israelis finally complete the deHamas-ification of Gaza, polls will show that no one there supported the October 7 massacres.
That’s the way it goes with strong horses, and not-so-strong horses. Not-so-strong horses are forgotten.
Which tells me that Israel should not consent to a ceasefire until the hostages are delivered—just as Netanyahu has already said. No trading of hostages for scads of Hamasniks held in Israeli prisons. Never again should Israel consent to exchanges like the trade of 1000 prisoners, which included Sinwar, for one Israeli–Shalit.
From the news report
This is evidence that Hamas is no longer operating at the top of its game. Hamas at the top of its game would have soon or immediately realized that Sinwar was dead, and would have taken away Sinwar’s body ASAP, before the Israelis could come back for it. Then Hamas could have pretended that Sinwar was in hiding, and no one would have been the wiser.
It would have much better for Hamas propaganda– and Hamas is VERY skilled at propaganda–to have been able to say that Sinwar was still in hiding, or that his location was unknown. Instead, Israel’s possession of his body gave Israel a great propaganda coup—proof that Sinwar was deader than the proverbial doornail. Truth is the best propaganda.
As Hamas is degraded, there is no point for Israel to consent to any lopsided deals. Like Bibi said, unconditionally release the hostages, and there is peace. No need to negotiate with a much weaker horse.
@ Gringo > “Which tells me that Israel should not consent to a ceasefire until the hostages are delivered—just as Netanyahu has already said.”
If this has already been posted by others, my apologies.
Better twice than not at all.
Bibi is channeling his inner Churchill.
https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2024/10/17/netanyahu-to-hamas-free-the-hostages-and-we-will-let-you-live/
Carrot and stick.
Aesop approves this message.
This could stop, for now. But, as somebody said, to make it closer to permanent, any mention of Israeli hostages to a group of Palestinians needs to result in everyone pissing themselves.
The forces who completely wrecked these people will be back at it with the kindergarten lessons featuring killing Jews. Give it two years, tops, and UN educational facilities rebuilt
Daily Mail via Neo’s quote: “…shrapnel scything across the upper floors…”
A terrifying image when applied to our own forces or civilians.
A disturbing image when applied to (most of?) the enemy civilians [i.e., any real noncombatants]?
A very satisfying image when applied to the enemy fighters and major civilian supporters.
But the British do seem to have a way with words … given just how rich the English truly is.