Ashraf Abo Taha was evacuated from Rafah in May and relocated to Khan Younis on orders of the Israeli military, but believes his home where Hamas warlord Yahya Sinwar was killed this week
Drone footage of ‘Yahya Sinwar’s last moments’
A man from Gaza was stunned to see that his home of 15 years was where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was assassinated last week.
Ashraf Abo Taha realised when he watched a piece of Israeli drone footage of the killing on Rafah’s Ibn Sena Street in southern Gaza. Israeli troops took out the architect of the October 7 attacks on Wednesday, with drone footage released a short while after the announcement. The IDF said the video showed Sinwar in a partially destroyed building before the killing.
Speaking to BBC Arabic’s Gaza Lifeline, Ashrad said he fled Rafah in May after the Israeli military ordered evacuations. He said that since he moved to Khan Younis, he had not received any further information about his home until his daughter showed him the footage. She told him it was their home, but he didn’t believe her at first. It was his brother who confirmed it was his house.
“I was like ‘yes this is my house’ and I saw the pictures and here I was shocked”, Ashraf said, adding that none of the men of his family had ever had any dealings with Sinwar, and had no idea how he got into their home.
The BBC was supplied pictures and video of Ashraf’s home, and they have verified that the window archways, external doorway decorations, shelves and armchairs all match the video of Sinwar’s slaughter.
Ashraf said that he and his siblings had built the home in Rafah, costing them around £41,400. It was in good condition when he left it. “What happened has saddened me a lot, the house that I built and all my payments are gone,” he said. “Only God can compensate us.”
It emerged this week that the Hamas warlord was killed after a chance encounter when the Israeli military found him fleeing an underground tunnel.
Sinwar had been trying to escape the group’s tunnel system to move to a safer location when he was killed in the southern Gaza Strip during a routine patrol by the IDF. According to Israeli officials, Sinwar was discovered in the Tal El Sultan area of southern Gaza, where they believed senior members of Hamas were hiding.
The IDF spotted three suspected militants moving between buildings and opened fire before Sinwar escaped and ran into a ruined building. Tank shells and a missile were fired at the building, according to Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
