And Hamas announced the news eventually on Friday.
The head of its political bureau aka its leader, Yahia Sinwar was killed in a combat in Gaza's Tal Sultan while fighting the Israeli army.
Hamas announced that he is its latest leading figure to be a martyr. It added that his killing wouldn’t impact it, and it insisted on its demand: The exchange of all hostages and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza.
Hamas is correct. It is a blow, but it won’t be the end for the movement that technically had all its senior and leading members including the founder themselves assassinated.
Now let’s take two steps back.
The Israeli army killed Yahia Sinwar, the current leader of Hamas in Rafah. Even Israel did not believe the news at first. His DNA and dental records had to be tested. Yahia Sinwar was not hiding underground in the tunnels with the Israel hostages, nor he was hiding among the civilians.
He fought till the end and was killed along with two of his companions "including one whom the Israeli army claimed to kill from several months ago" in combat on Wednesday. In fact, according to the Israeli media, he and his companions were the ones who opened their fire.
The Israeli army knew about his identity only on Thursday.
On the same night, the Israeli army released a video recording of the last moments of Sinwar while fighting till the end.
He lost part of his arm throwing a stick to the drone hovering over his head in an epic ending that suits a military film. The video went viral in the Arab world and Egypt in no time
Israel successfully killed Yahia Sinwar physically but in the process, it created the legend of Yahia Sinwar, the fighter who fought till the last moment, last breath.
