Shot in head, arm smashed: What Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar's autopsy shows

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by a gunshot to the head, suffered multiple injuries before his death, and was identified through a DNA test using his severed finger, according to reports.

In Short

• Sinwar suffered serious injuries before bullet to his head killed him
• His forearm was smashed, tried to stop bleeding with electrical cord 
• Hamas chief's identity confirmed through DNA test

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, and his forearm was smashed before his death, causing severe bleeding, according to reports that cited a doctor who oversaw his autopsy. Sinwar suffered other serious injuries before a bullet to his head killed him, the doctor said.

The 61-year-old Hamas chief was identified through a DNA test, and his finger was severed and sent for testing.

According to Dr Chen Kugel, the director of Israel’s national forensic institute who oversaw the autopsy, told the New York Times that Sinwar was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. The doctor noted that his forearm was smashed after being hit by shrapnel, possibly from a small missile or tank shell, causing bleeding.

The Hamas leader tried to stop bleeding using an electrical cord, “But it wouldn’t have worked in any case. It wasn’t strong enough," the doctor was quoted saying.

Dr Kugel said that Sinwar’s autopsy was conducted 24 to 36 hours after his death. After it was completed, the body was handed over to the Israeli military, which may have moved it to an undisclosed location.

Sinwar's identity was confirmed through a DNA test. The doctor told CNN that his finger was cut off and sent for testing by the Israeli army.

“After the laboratory made the profile, we compared it with the profile that Sinwar had in the term that he was serving here as a prisoner, so then we could identify him finally by his DNA,” Dr Kugel said.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) announced Sinwar's death on Thursday, October 17, and Hamas confirmed it on Friday. He was one of the primary targets of Israel, and was behind the October 7 attack on Israel that killed over 1,200.

A drone video of Sinwar's final moments, released by the Israeli army, showed him slumped in a chair covered in dust, with a bleeding right hand. As the drone hovered nearby, the video showed him throwing a stick at it in an apparent act of desperation or defiance. Soon after, a tank shell was fired into the building, and he was found dead later with his head smashed.