IDF releases Sinwar death footage and his son's letter two years after his killing
Marking two years since Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Rafah on 16 October 2024, the IDF published previously unseen footage of the engagement and a letter from his 10-year-old son Ibrahim that it says soldiers recovered in Gaza. Coverage so far comes only from Israeli right-leaning outlets.
1 / 2
The story, neutrally told
Right · 1The Israel Defense Forces released previously unseen footage on Friday 16 October 2026 of the engagement that ended with the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, two years after he was killed. The Jerusalem PostRC “The IDF released previously unseen footage of the moments that resulted in Hamas's leader, Yahya Sinwar's death, on Friday, two years after the assassination took place.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ Right · 1According to the IDF's account, Nachal and 828th Brigade teams were operating in the Tel Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah on intelligence about possible high-value Hamas targets when they spotted armed men leaving a building. The Jerusalem PostRC “Combat teams from the Nachal and 828th Brigades, respectively, were conducting operations in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah based on intelligence indicating potential high-value Hamas targets in the area” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ Right · 1The military said lookouts saw three armed men about 300 metres from an engineering operation, two carrying a blanket and one wearing a tactical vest; a battalion commander opened fire and wounded one in the arm, who was later confirmed to be Sinwar. The Jerusalem PostRC “Two of the terror operatives carried a blanket, and the third wore a tactical vest, the military added.”“This wounded operative was later confirmed to be Sinwar.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗
Right · 1The IDF said Sinwar fled into a separate building, a soldier was severely wounded in the firefight, and a paratrooper company that entered to search the building came under grenade fire, one grenade detonating. The Jerusalem PostRC “Sinwar, wounded from the aforementioned shooting, fled, entering a separate building from the other two terror operatives.”“two grenades were thrown at the soldiers, one of which detonated, the military said.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ Right · 1Soldiers then fired on the structure with tank shells, machine guns and small arms; an IDF drone found a body that evening, and troops waited until the next morning to search because of operational risks, then positively identified Sinwar. The Jerusalem PostRC “That evening, an IDF drone entered the structure and located the remains of a body.”“they were able to positively identify Sinwar and confirm his death.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ Right · 2The IDF also published a letter, which it says soldiers recovered in the Gaza Strip in 2024, written to Sinwar by his son Ibrahim at the start of the war, when the boy was 10; the release came on Thursday night, ahead of the anniversary. JNSR “The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday night published a letter written by Ibrahim Sinwar, the son of former Hamas terrorist chief Yahya Sinwar, at the start of the war, when he was 10 years old” Read at JNS ↗ The Jerusalem PostRC “according to an IDF spokesperson's statement released ahead of the second anniversary of Sinwar's death” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗
Right · 2In the letter, in a translation provided by the IDF, the boy says he misses his father, wants to "hold a Kalashnikov and shoot Jews", and makes pistols, tanks and Kalashnikovs from paper and cardboard; the letter also asks when the father will come home and hopes the war will end and the father will be safe. JNSR “I want to hug you and see you victorious, and I want to proclaim 'Allah is the greatest,' hold a Kalashnikov and shoot Jews," reads the letter, according to a translation provided by the IDF.” Read at JNS ↗ The Jerusalem PostRC “He also asked his father when he would return home to sleep with his arms around him and hoped the war would end and that his father would be safe.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ Right · 1The letter is on lined paper with a Spider-Man sticker and drawings of weapons, tanks and missiles; the IDF did not comment on the sticker. The Jerusalem PostRC “The IDF did not comment specifically on the Spider-Man sticker.”“Written on lined paper, the letter featured a Spider-Man sticker in its lower-left corner.” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ Right · 2The IDF said the letter and drawings show that "Sinwar's murderous ideology is reflected in the upbringing of his children" and the effect of Hamas's values of hatred and violence on young people in Gaza. The Jerusalem PostRC “revealing the impact of Hamas' values of hatred and violence on the younger generation in the Gaza Strip” Read at The Jerusalem Post ↗ JNSR “The letter and drawings illustrate how Sinwar's murderous ideology is reflected in the upbringing of his children” Read at JNS ↗
Right · 1Background: Sinwar was convicted in 1989 of six murders, freed in 2011 in the Gilad Shalit exchange, became Hamas's Gaza leader in 2017 and its political bureau head in August 2024; he is described as a principal planner of the 7 October 2023 attack, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. JNSR “Sinwar was convicted in 1989 by an Israeli court for six murders and sentenced to five life sentences”“killed more than 1,200 people, wounded thousands and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage to Gaza” Read at JNS ↗ Right · 1JNS also reported other IDF operations announced on Thursday: the killing of two men accused of arms smuggling in the Khan Yunis area, and the dismantling of a 1.5-kilometre tunnel crossing the Yellow Line, the ceasefire deployment line. JNSR “the IDF killed two terrorists involved in smuggling weapons into the Strip in the Khan Yunis area”“Israeli soldiers dismantled a 1.5-kilometer (0.9-mile) underground tunnel that crossed the Yellow Line in the southern Gaza Strip” Read at JNS ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Israeli right-leaning outlets present the releases as an IDF anniversary disclosure, relaying the military's account of the Rafah engagement and adopting its reading of the boy's letter as evidence of Hamas indoctrination.
- Emphasis
- The letter's most violent line leads two of the three headlines; the footage piece gives the IDF's step-by-step timeline; JNS adds Sinwar's background and other IDF operations.
- Leaves out or plays down
- All accounts rely on the IDF's statements and translation; no independent verification, Hamas or Palestinian response, or other perspective on the letter or footage appears. The boy's age and the letter's wish for the war to end are mentioned but given less weight than the 'shoot Jews' line.
- Charged language
- “terrorists”“murderous ideology”“massacre”“Shoot the Jews”“former Hamas terrorist chief”
- For example
-
“'Shoot the Jews': Two years after Sinwar's death, IDF releases letter from Sinwar's 10-year-old son” — The Jerusalem Post
“the culmination of Israel's effort to deliver justice to the architect of the October 7 massacre” — The Jerusalem Post
“former Hamas terrorist chief Yahya Sinwar” — JNS
What every side reports
- Sinwar was killed in Rafah on 16 October 2024.
- The IDF published a letter from Sinwar's then-10-year-old son Ibrahim, which it says soldiers recovered in Gaza in 2024.
- The letter expresses a wish to hold a Kalashnikov and shoot Jews, per the IDF's translation.
- The IDF said the letter reflects Sinwar's ideology in his children's upbringing.
Israel Defense Forces organisation
The IDF presents the footage as a detailed account of how Sinwar was found and killed, and the son's letter as proof that his 'murderous ideology' shapes his children's upbringing and Hamas's influence on Gaza's youth.
“Sinwar's murderous ideology is reflected in the upbringing of his children” — The Jerusalem Post
“the military said on Friday” — The Jerusalem Post
Yahya Sinwar person
Sinwar is described by the outlets as Hamas's leader and a main architect of the 7 October 2023 attack. He is not quoted; his son's letter is the only material from his side, as translated by the IDF.
“one of the main architects of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel” — The Jerusalem Post
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right3 articles
-
'Shoot the Jews': Two years after Sinwar's death, IDF releases letter from Sinwar's 10-year-old son
Critical Leads with the boy's 'shoot the Jews' line and the IDF's claim that it reflects Sinwar's ideology, while noting the child's wish for peace and his father's safety.
-
WATCH: IDF releases never-before-seen footage, marking two years since Hamas's Yahya Sinwar's death
Celebratory Relays the IDF's detailed account of the Rafah engagement and presents Sinwar's death as a turning point and 'justice' for 7 October.
-
JNSR ·
‘I want to hold a Kalashnikov and shoot Jews': IDF reveals letter by Yahya Sinwar’s son
Critical Reports the letter in full per the IDF translation, adds Sinwar's criminal and leadership history, and appends other IDF operations in Gaza.
- 16 Oct 04:04 First The Jerusalem PostRC WATCH: IDF releases never-before-seen footage, marking two years since Hamas's Yahya Sinwar's death
- 16 Oct 04:04 First The Jerusalem PostRC 'Shoot the Jews': Two years after Sinwar's death, IDF releases letter from Sinwar's 10-year-old son
- 16 Oct 07:44 +3h 40m JNSR ‘I want to hold a Kalashnikov and shoot Jews': IDF reveals letter by Yahya Sinwar’s son
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
Ask about this story
Loading…