Here is Ashraf Abo Taha, a Palestinian who spoke to PNN in shock over having discovered that former leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, was assassinated at his former home in Rafah, Gaza. He had spent 15 years in this house and had to leave it in May with his family due to the exacerbation of Israeli military actions in the area. The house, on Ibn Sena Street, has been partially destroyed by the incident.
The Israeli military has released footage captured by a drone of Sinwar in the house before he was killed, and the BBC verifies that it is them. Abo Taha was shown this video by his daughter; it matches images of the building’s unique features such as window archways and external decorations and confirmed that it is his home. At another time, he was particularly sorrowful about the loss of his house, which had been built by him with his siblings at a cost of 200,000 shekels.
Taha said he did not know Sinwar, did not know how the Hamas leader ended up in his house, nor did it make a difference with how many times he and his family had to move because of the repeated wars in Gaza. A military operation by Israel that resulted in the eviction of over a million Palestinians that was conducted internationally in May left the dislodged in the conflict-stricken territories of Gaza with multiple displacements.
He was a very influential person in Hamas-the mastermind behind the recent October 7 attacks in Israel. Sinwar’s killing will give a huge blow to that group, and Israeli military operations continue amid high tensions in Gaza.