A third Sinwar brother was eliminated Saturday evening in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, ending the possibility that another Sinwar would head Hamas.
Zakaria Sinwar, brother of Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Sinwar, was killed with some members of his family as Operation Gideon’s Chariots begins to rev up.
The operation is intended to intensify the offensive to dismantle the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza while forcing the terrorists to release the remaining 58 hostages, at least 35 of whom are known to be deceased.
Yahya Sinwar was assassinated by Israel in Gaza last summer; his brother Muhammad Sinwar, who succeeded him as chief of Hamas, was eliminated in a massive air strike on a terror tunnel beneath a hospital in Khan Younis last week.
The assassination of Zakaria is part of the ongoing IDF effort to eliminate senior Hamas leaders and dismantle the terrorists’ organization.
IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Sunday that five divisions are now operating inside Gaza in the new offensive aimed at defeating Hamas.
“We are moving to a new stage in the fighting. During the operation, we will increase and expand our operational control in the Gaza Strip, while bisecting the Strip and moving the population for its safety, in all the areas where we will operate,” Defrin said.
He added that the IDF has implemented lessons learned from the fighting in Gaza thus far.
“Unlike previously, we are now concentrating on offensive effort in the Gaza Strip and carrying out an offensive [that will continue] until the defeat [of Hamas] in the areas in which we operate.”
