EMET Praises the IDF Elimination of Terrorist Mastermind Yahya Sinwar

(October 20, 2024, Washington, DC)

Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7th attacks which included the brutal torture, rape and massacre of 1200 people, and kidnapped 251 hostages into the terror tunnels of Gaza was eliminated by the IDF in Rafah on Wednesday October 16th. Long before October 7th, Yahya Sinwar was responsible for the murder of scores upon scores of Israelis and Americans, during both the first and the second intifadas.

Sinwar was a founding member of the Hamas terrorist group. He was an unrepentant believer in Hamas’ cause, despite the fact that it had brought devastation into Gaza, killing thousands of Palestinians and Israelis, as well as war upon Hamas’ ally, Hezbollah. Sinwar also had been responsible for the abduction and slaughter of two Israeli soldiers, as well as for the abduction of Gilad Shalit into Hamas’ notorious, hell-like tunnels.

Prior to that, Sinwar had been responsible for the formation of the Majd, a Palestinian intelligence agency that tortured and murdered Palestinian collaborators.

Sinwar had been known to the Israelis a “the face of pure evil” and “the butcher of Khan Younis”, and is enigmatic of everything that is repulsive, repressive, and relentless about the terrorist organization. Although the elimination of Sinwar, together with that of Ishmael Haniyah, Mohammad Deif, Suleil al-Aruri and Marwan Issa of the Hamas command structure, might make for a temporary void in the leadership structure of Hamas, there are still leaders of the terrorist group who are safely residing in Qatar, such as Khaled Meshal and Mousa Abu Marzouk.

Says Sarah Stern, Founder and President of EMET, “Although we are relieved that the architect of October 7th has been eliminated, there are still plenty of other enemies within Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran, itself, that seek to obliterate the state of Israel; and there are still 101 hostages, alive or dead, inside Gaza’s terror tunnels. The state of Israel cannot rest unless and until the vast majority of these enemies are eviscerated, the hostages are returned home, and Israeli citizens can live in safety and security in their ancestral homeland.”

EMET is an unabashedly pro-Israel and pro-American think tank and policy institute that educates members of Congress and policymakers about the entire Middle East.