This Video Does Not Feature Trump Confirming Yahya Sinwar’s Assassination
The Claim
Trump was referring to Sinwar in the clip by saying, "He died like a dog; he died like a coward."
News posted on
Emerging story
After Israeli reports of the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar emerged, a video clip went viral on social media, claiming to show former U.S. President Donald Trump confirming Sinwar’s death.
Users alleged that Trump was referring to Sinwar in the clip by saying, "He died like a dog; he died like a coward."
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral footage and found the claim to be misleading.
After conducting a thorough reverse image search, Misbar’s investigative team found the video to be older than claimed and unrelated to Trump’s remarks about Hamas chief, Yahya Sinwar.
2019 Video Shows Trump’s Statement Following Assassination of ISIS Leader
Contrary to social media users’ viral claim, the video was not shot after Sinwar's assassination.
Misbar’s investigative team traced the original footage to October 27, 2019, featuring the then-President Donald Trump's statement about the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria.
The full one-hour statement, uploaded to YouTube at the time, includes Trump’s remarks that al-Baghdadi “died like a dog, he died like a coward, He was whimpering, screaming and crying.”
Moreover, we reviewed the full transcript of Trump’s statement on al-Baghdadi, which was uploaded by the White House on October 27, 2019.
The U.S. Forces Eliminated al-Baghdadi in 2019
The U.S. forces killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid in northwestern Syria, as announced by President Donald Trump.
Al-Baghdadi, the founder and leader of ISIS, was one of the world's most-wanted individuals.
During the raid, Baghdadi was cornered in a tunnel, where he detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and three children, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Israel Killed Hamas Leader, Yahya Sinwar
On Thursday, Yahya Sinwar was killed during a fight with a group of Israeli trainee soldiers.
According to sources, a patrol from the Bislach Brigade training unit of the Israeli army was conducting searches in Tal as-Sultan when they spotted and killed a small group of fighters moving between buildings, one of whom was later identified as Sinwar.
His body was later transported to a laboratory in Israel, where police confirmed his identity through dental and fingerprint records obtained during a prior incarceration.
Hamas confirmed that Sinwar was killed defending Palestine until his last moments in the confrontation with Israeli forces in Gaza.
Who Is Yahya Sinwar?
In 1989, Yahya Sinwar was sentenced by an Israeli court to four life sentences for his involvement in the killings of suspected Palestinian informants and a plot to assassinate two Israeli soldiers.
After 22 years in prison, he was released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange that freed over 1,000 Palestinian detainees in exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
Sinwar gained prominence within Hamas' political leadership in Gaza in 2014 and was elected the region’s overall Hamas leader in 2017.
Israel suspected him of playing a key role in orchestrating Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023.
In December 2023, the Israeli military distributed leaflets in Gaza offering a $400,000 reward for information leading to his capture, labeling him a "dead man walking."
By August 2024, Sinwar was named the political leader of Hamas following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
Read More
The Prominent Misleading Claims Against Yahya Sinwar Since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood
These Photos Do Not Show Hamas's Sinwar Visiting a Battleground Recently
