When the body was finally identified as Sinwar’s, Ran described a mixture of overwhelming disbelief and relief.

By Hezy Laing

New revelations have emerged about the operation which led to the elimination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar

According to interviews and reporting, Lt. Col. Ran — the commander of the infantry force that killed Sinwar — recently gave the most detailed firsthand account to date of the operation that ended the months‑long manhunt.

Ran said he spent the night before the operation unable to sleep, convinced that the intelligence picture was almost too good to be true.

He gathered his company commanders and showed them drone imagery from the previous day, asking them who they thought the figure resembled.

“This is him,” one replied, according to Ran’s account.

The force moved toward a suspicious structure in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood.

Earlier that morning, a soldier from the 450th Battalion had spotted a man repeatedly entering and exiting a building, prompting the battalion commander to order fire on the location.

Hours later, a drone observed three figures fleeing the building, moving from house to house — two clearing the way for a third, believed to be Sinwar.

Ran’s unit advanced on foot, entered the building, and engaged the terrorists inside.

After the firefight, the troops waited tensely for confirmation.

When the body was finally identified as Sinwar, Ran described a moment of overwhelming emotion — a mix of disbelief, relief, and the weight of knowing they had eliminated the architect of the October 7 massacre.

Drone footage released later showed Sinwar wounded shortly before his death, attempting to escape with two aides.

The IDF operation was the culmination of months of intelligence gathering, surveillance, and ground pressure that gradually constricted Sinwar’s movements until he was forced into the open.