Israeli officials stated on Thursday that they are increasingly confident a militant killed during recent clashes with their forces in Gaza was Yahya Sinwar, a top Hamas leader. Sinwar had been in hiding since the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Yahya Sinwar, the key planner of the October 7 2023, attacks, had been hiding in Gaza for the past year. Despite multiple efforts by Israel to target him since the war began, he managed to evade capture or assassination.
Since the deadly October 7 attack, which became the darkest day in Israel’s history, Yahya Sinwar was considered Israel’s most wanted target.
Yahya Sinwar became the new leader of Hamas in early August after the former leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran—a killing attributed to Israel. Sinwar, who spent much of his adult life in Israeli prisons, became the most influential Hamas figure still alive after Haniyeh’s assassination.
Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp located in Khan Younis, a town in Gaza. He became involved with Hamas early on, joining the group soon after it was established in 1987. Hamas follows a strict Islamist ideology that aims to replace Israel with an Islamic state.
He later took charge of the group’s security division, focusing on eliminating spies working for Israel.
In the late 1980s, Israel arrested him, and during questioning, he confessed to killing 12 individuals suspected of working with Israel. This earned him the nickname “The Butcher of Khan Younis.” He was sentenced to four life terms for his involvement in multiple offenses, including the killing of two Israeli soldiers.
While in prison, Sinwar led protests to demand better living conditions. He also took the time to learn Hebrew and study Israeli society, gaining a strong understanding of how it functions.
In 2008, he overcame brain cancer with treatment provided by Israeli doctors.
In 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved Sinwar’s release, along with around 1,000 other prisoners, as part of a prisoner swap deal. This exchange secured the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by Hamas during a raid across the border in 2006.
People who interacted with Sinwar said he showed no regret for the October 7 attacks, even after a year of war. Despite triggering an Israeli invasion of Gaza and a conflict that caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, devastated his home region, and brought destruction to Hezbollah, his ally, Sinwar remained unapologetic.
According to four Palestinian officials and two sources from Middle Eastern governments, Sinwar believed that using armed struggle was the only way to achieve the creation of a Palestinian state.
Sinwar maintained firm control over Hamas, even after a year of war, though some Gazans showed signs of disagreement with his leadership.
Israel labeled Sinwar as “The Face of Evil.” He operated secretly, frequently changing locations and relying on trusted messengers for communication instead of using digital methods, according to three Hamas officials and one regional source.
During months of failed ceasefire negotiations, led by Qatar and Egypt, which aimed to exchange prisoners for hostages, Sinwar made all the key decisions, according to three Hamas sources. Negotiators had to wait for days as his responses were relayed through a hidden network of messengers.
Hamas sees Israel not just as a political opponent but as an occupying force on Muslim land. According to experts on Islamic movements, Sinwar and his followers often viewed hardships and suffering as acts of sacrifice, aligning with broader Islamic beliefs about enduring struggles for a greater cause.
Before the war, Sinwar would occasionally share stories about his early life in Gaza under years of Israeli control. According to Wissam Ibrahim, a Gaza resident who has met him, Sinwar once mentioned that his mother made clothes for the family using empty sacks from UN food aid, reports Times of Israel.
While in prison, Sinwar wrote a semi-autobiographical novel where he described soldiers demolishing Palestinian homes, comparing it to “a monster crushing the bones of its prey.”
Despite his intimidating(or fearsome) reputation and sudden bursts of anger, Sinwar’s understanding of the daily struggles in Gaza was appreciated by locals. According to four journalists and three Hamas officials, his connection to their hardships made people feel more comfortable around him.
Arab and Palestinian officials saw Sinwar as the key planner behind Hamas’s strategy and military strength. His close relationship with Iran, which he visited in 2012, played an important role in building these capabilities.
Nabih Awadah, a former Lebanese Communist fighter who was imprisoned with Sinwar in Ashkelon from 1991 to 1995, shared that Sinwar saw the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as a “disaster.” He believed the agreement was just a trick by Israel and insisted that Palestinian land could only be regained through force, not negotiations, according to Times of Israel.
The 1993 Oslo Peace Accords were a set of agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They marked the first time both sides officially recognized each other, with Israel acknowledging the PLO and the PLO recognizing Israel’s right to exist. The accords sought to establish Palestinian self-governance in parts of the West Bank and Gaza, but lasting peace was never achieved.
Awadah described Sinwar as stubborn and determined, saying he would light up with happiness whenever Hamas or Hezbollah launched attacks against Israelis. Sinwar believed that military action was the only way to free Palestine from Israeli control.
Awadah said that Sinwar was a powerful influence on all prisoners, including those who were not religious or connected to Islamist groups.
After Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, Hamas, under Sinwar’s leadership, poured significant manpower and money into transforming the area into a military base. They built a vast network of underground tunnels, stockpiled weapons, and produced rockets, all with the goal of waging war against Israel and working towards its destruction.
Before planning the October 7 attacks, Sinwar openly expressed his intent to launch a powerful strike against Israel. In a speech the previous year, he promised to send waves of fighters and rockets into Israel. He suggested that this conflict would either push the world to create a Palestinian state on the land Israel took in 1967 or leave Israel isolated globally.
By the time Sinwar gave the speech, he and Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif (who was killed by Israel in July 2024) had already secretly planned the attack. They even conducted public training exercises that mimicked the planned assault.
His goals remain unachieved. Although the issue has returned to the forefront of global discussions, the hope of establishing a Palestinian nation seems as far away as ever.
Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has firmly dismissed a post-war proposal for Gaza that involves setting a clear timeline for creating a Palestinian state. He stated that discussing this now would amount to rewarding terrorism.
Michael Koubi, a former officer from Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, recalled interrogating Sinwar for 180 hours in prison. Koubi explained that Sinwar was exceptional because of his strong presence, which allowed him to intimidate others( making people feel scared or nervous, often by showing power, confidence, or aggression, to influence or control their behavior)and take charge with authority.
Koubi once asked Sinwar, who was around 28 or 29 at the time, why he hadn’t married yet. Sinwar replied, “Hamas is my wife, my child, and everything to me.” However, after being released from prison in 2011, Sinwar got married and later had three children.
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