IDF says 'mission is not over' until hostages are returned: 'We will not rest'

The Israel Defense Forces said that the warfare successful Gaza is not implicit pursuing the sidesplitting of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ apical person and the mastermind of the violent group’s Oct. 7 attack, and volition proceed until the hostages taken amid that day's massacre are returned.

IDF Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari released declassified footage showing Sinwar hours earlier the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, arsenic good arsenic his movements successful Gaza arsenic helium fled implicit the past year. Hagari said 101 hostages stay held successful Gaza aft a twelvemonth successful captivity nether "ruthless conditions." 

"Killing Sinwar is the effect of a twelvemonth of operational and quality efforts to bring him and different Hamas leaders to justice. Sinwar has been eliminated. But our ngo is not over," Hagari said successful a video connection connected Saturday. "We volition not remainder until we bring each our hostages location by immoderate means possible. And we volition proceed to support the radical of Israel from each threats connected each of our borders." 

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Israeli service spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari speaks to the property from The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defence, successful Tel Aviv connected Oct. 18, 2023. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Hours earlier the Oct. 7 attacks, during which Hamas terrorists murdered astir 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds much arsenic hostages into Gaza, Sinwar was captured connected video unsocial hiding his household and equipment, including beds, pillows, food, h2o and a TV successful an underground passageway network, Hagari said. 

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While Sinwar's determination was kept classified portion helium ordered the attacks from the underground tunnels, "this was a luxury that the radical of Gaza did not person arsenic Sinwar ever prioritized himself, his wealth and the Hamas terrorists implicit the radical of Gaza," Hagari said. "Each measurement was planned to maximize harm to Israeli and Gazan civilians and to minimize harm to himself and different terrorists."

Banners with the photograph of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas person who was killed successful the Israeli attack, are hung connected the streets successful Tehran, Iran connected Oct. 19, 2024.  (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"Throughout the warfare that Sinwar started, helium continued to fell underneath the radical of Gaza," Hagari said.

In February, Hagari said Israeli troops recovered Sinwar's underground hideout successful Khan Yunis that included money, food, beds, documents, a ablution and a kitchen. IDF operations successful Khan Yunis forced Sinwar to fly to Rafah past month, Hagari said. 

Sinwar's DNA was recovered connected a portion of insubstantial "a fewer 100 meters" from a passageway wherever six Israeli hostages were executed successful Rafah earlier Sinwar fled again, Hagari said. 

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"When Sinwar was moving for his beingness and went supra the ground, this was the archetypal and past clip that helium encountered Israeli soldiers successful combat," Hagari said. "Sinwar was eliminated by the IDF successful Rafah past Wednesday. I privation to stress it again: This was the archetypal and past clip helium encountered Israeli soldiers, and helium was eliminated. There were nary hostages with Sinwar erstwhile helium was eliminated."