Israeli killing of Sinwar raises uncertainty of Gaza war’s future

Israel's killing of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader and the mastermind of the group's attack last year, is a dramatic turning point in the yearlong conflict in Gaza, with questions lingering on the future of the war.

The Israeli military announced the death of Sinwar on Oct. 17, after a group of soldiers killed him in a surprise firefight in southern Gaza's Rafah.

According to the Israeli military, Sinwar met his end at the hands of a routine patrol on Oct. 16. It said a group of soldiers of the 828th Brigade was moving through the city of Rafah when it came across three Palestinian militants.

There was no prior intelligence pointing to Sinwar's presence in the area.

The forces identified the three militants who were going from home to home on the run.

As the soldiers chased them, Sinwar split from the other two.

A tank fired at a building in which two of the militants hid, while Sinwar took cover in another house.

Drone footage released by the military showed Sinwar covered in dust sitting in an armchair staring down a drone as the device entered the house devastated by strikes.

The grainy footage showed Sinwar alone with one hand severely injured and his head covered in a traditional scarf, throwing a stick at the approaching drone during his final moments.

"We identified him as a terrorist inside a building and we shot into the building and we entered to scan the area. We found him with a gun and 40 thousand shekels ($10,750)," said Israeli military spokesman Danieal Hagari.

Unverified images circulating online showed Israeli soldiers circled around the mangled corpse of a man resembling Sinwar who appeared to have suffered a severe head wound.

The military conducted immediate DNA testing...