ISTANBUL (Sputnik) - The leader of Palestinian movement Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, had been fighting against the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip for 18 days before his death as he did not want to stay out of the battlefield, the Turkiye newspaper reported on Saturday, citing a source from the movement.

Sinwar was advised to avoid hostilities after he headed the movement’s political office in August replacing assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, the source said.

“However, he did not want to stay out of the battlefield, he wanted to die in battle. He had been fighting against Israel in [the southern Gazan city of] Rafah for 18 days and was engaging in a battle with four comrades on the day of his death, a battle that lasted about two hours,” the source added.

The source also expressed opinion that Sinwar was alone at the moment of his death, as other Hamas fighters sought to divert the Israeli military in another direction. He intentionally covered his face when filmed by a drone to avoid artificial intelligence recognition, the source was cited as saying by the newspaper.

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