--- title: The Story Behind TIME's 'Red X' Covers description: TIME's Nov. 11, 2024 cover of a red "X" crosses out slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar canonical: https://time.com/5917946/time-magazine-red-x-cover/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-12-05T17:00:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-10-18T15:57:37.000Z article:section: History og:title: The Story Behind TIME's 'Red X' Covers og:description: TIME's Nov. 11, 2024 cover of a red "X" crosses out slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar og:url: https://time.com/5917946/time-magazine-red-x-cover/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f51212fafbb90d4/698a89f2cabb1d3cc7e5945b/TIM241111-SinwarX-Cover-FINAL.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2363 og:image:height: 1329 og:image:alt: Yahya Sinwar Time Magazine X cover 241111 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Story Behind TIME's 'Red X' Covers twitter:description: TIME's Nov. 11, 2024 cover of a red "X" crosses out slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f51212fafbb90d4/698a89f2cabb1d3cc7e5945b/TIM241111-SinwarX-Cover-FINAL.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The History Behind TIME's Use of a Red 'X' on Its Cover > Sponsored content. 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Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is included in a TIME print and digital subscription? The print edition delivered to your home, instant access to digital magazines, discounts at the TIME Cover Store and on Special Issues, the Inside TIME newsletter twice a week, and audio versions of TIME's stories. It is from $29 for one year or $49 for two years at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is the difference between TIME's digital and print plans? Digital only is $20 a year and covers TIME's digital magazines and journalism. Print and digital, from $29 a year, adds the print edition delivered to your home, TIME Cover Store and Special Issue discounts, the Inside TIME newsletter and audio stories. #### Is TIME a reliable news source? TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923. Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: Oct 18, 2024 3:57 PM UTCPublished: Dec 5, 2020 5:00 PM UTC  Illustration by Tim O'Brien for TIME  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Updated: Oct 18, 2024 3:57 PM UTCPublished: Dec 5, 2020 5:00 PM UTC One of the covers of TIME’s Nov. 11, 2024, issue features a giant “X” over the face of [slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar](https://time.com/7094298/yahya-sinwar-hamas-israel/), who is said to have plotted the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel that set off the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The latest “X” cover is part of a long tradition saved for some of the worst foes humanity has faced in the magazine’s history. TIME has used a red “X” to cross out various things on its cover only five other times. The first time was 75 years ago, in 1945, to mark the death of[ Adolf Hitler](https://time.com/vault/issue/1945-05-07/page/1/) (and later that year,[ a black “X”](https://time.com/vault/issue/1945-08-20/page/1/) over Japan’s rising sun marked the end of the war in the Pacific theater). The second use of the “X” came in 2003\. This time it crossed out[ Saddam Hussein](https://time.com/vault/issue/2003-04-21/page/1/) at the beginning of the Iraq war. The third “X” on TIME’s cover happened in 2006, when U.S. forces killed[ Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi](https://time.com/vault/issue/2006-06-19/page/1/), the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The most recent usage of the “X” was in 2011, for the killing of[ Osama bin Laden](https://time.com/4307301/5-years-osama-bin-laden/). TIME used the X to symbolize “the end of a long struggle,” from World War II to milestones in the war on terrorism, and in 2020, the world battles the COVID-19 virus. Just as TIME acknowledged that bin Laden’s May 2, 2011, death was “the end of an era in some ways, but not the end of our struggle against terrorism,” so TIME’s use of the red X in Dec. 2020 marks the end of a historic year, but not the end of the battle to curb the spread of this deadly virus. That May 20, 2011, issue featuring the “X” over bin Laden’s face on the cover, also included reflections on how the 9/11 attacks affected Americans on the home front. TIME’s then-Editor-in-Chief Rick Stengel[ wrote](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2069579,00.html) about how Miami bureau chief Tim Padgett tracked down some of the children who were reading _The Pet Goat_ with President George W. Bush in their second-grade classroom when Bush learned that the U.S. had been attacked: "These kids, now high school juniors, had a front-row seat to history. Lazaro Dubrocq, 17, remembers seeing the President’s horrified expression and recalls how his heart started racing. That day in the classroom had a lasting impact, Dubrocq says: it 'motivated me to get a better handle on the world and to want to help improve the world.' That goes on, even with bin Laden gone." Not all foes have been specific people. The year “2020” got the big red “X” treatment to mark the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns worldwide. “This is the story of a year you’ll never want to revisit,” Stephanie Zacharek wrote in the Dec. 14, 2020[ essay](https://time.com/5917394/2020-in-review/). “Our most debilitating threat this year was a sense of helplessness, and it ran unchecked.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5917946/time-magazine-red-x-cover/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5917946/time-magazine-red-x-cover/"},"headline":"The History Behind TIME's Use of a Red 'X' on Its Cover","datePublished":"2020-12-05T17:00:17.000Z","dateModified":"2024-10-18T15:57:37.000Z","description":"TIME's Nov. 11, 2024 cover of a red \"X\" crosses out slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar","url":"https://time.com/5917946/time-magazine-red-x-cover/","keywords":["Media"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f51212fafbb90d4/698a89f2cabb1d3cc7e5945b/TIM241111-SinwarX-Cover-FINAL.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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