Who is Yahya Sinwar? Inside the bloody career of the Hamas leader

A notorious hardliner who spent 2 decades successful Israeli prison, Yahya Sinwar roseate done the ranks of Hamas to go its person and mastermind of the October 7 offensive

The antheral who spent 20 years successful an Israeli situation past roseate to the apical of the militant radical Hamas and masterminded the atrocities of October 7, 2023 has been killed.

Yahya Sinwar, a Hamas hardliner who has headed the militant enactment successful Gaza since 2017, was said to person been killed successful the municipality of Khan Younis connected Thursday.

An Israel Defence Force connection said: "After completing the process of identifying the body, it tin beryllium confirmed that Yahya Sinwar was eliminated." Kan Radio successful Israel reported that Sinwar had been killed by chance, and not arsenic the effect of a targeted operation.

Hamas has truthful acold refused to comment.

Sinwar's decease is the latest successful a bid of killings that person mostly decapitated the enactment of large militant groups successful Gaza and Lebanon. Hamas' governmental main Ismail Haniyeh was killed successful Iran successful July. Hezbollah's figurehead Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated successful Beirut successful precocious September. An elaborate infiltration cognition earlier this twelvemonth - apt carried retired by Israeli quality - exploded communications devices belonging to Hezbollah operatives causing disarray.

Since the siege and penetration of Gaza began successful October 2023, Sinwar managed to debar being killed oregon captured by the IDF contempt repeated Israeli claims that offensives into 'humanitarian zones' of Gaza - similar Rafah and Khan Younis successful the southbound of the Strip - were to hunt down high-ranking Hamas operatives.

Who is Yahya Sinwar?

Yahya Sinwar was calved successful 1962 successful a exile campy successful Khan Younis, a municipality successful confederate Gaza which was past administered by Egypt. His household fled from - what is contiguous - Ashkelon successful Israel, during the 1948 War; what the Palestinians telephone the Nakba, oregon 'Catastrophe'.

After graduating from the Islamic University successful Gaza, Sinwar joined the militant helping of the Palestinian question and was an aboriginal subordinate of Hamas. He led the party's information section and worked to basal retired collaborators. His relation successful the sidesplitting of 12 collaborators earned him the nickname 'The Butcher of Khan Younis'.

He was arrested for his relation successful the murders by Israel successful 1989 and sentenced to 4 beingness terms. During his clip successful prison, helium led hunger strikes and became fluent successful Hebrew. He survived encephalon crab successful 2008, being treated by Israeli doctors.

In 2011 Sinwar was released alongside much than 1000 different Palestinian prisoners arsenic portion of a celebrated speech for the Israeli worker Gilad Shalit. The captive swap was overseen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sinwar roseate done the ranks of Hamas connected his instrumentality to Gaza, acquiring a estimation arsenic a ruthless hardliner - successful opposition to the much mean positions taken by the group's person Ismail Haniyeh. He is wide believed to beryllium the antheral who ordered the sidesplitting of a chap Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtewi, successful an interior powerfulness struggle. It is besides believed that Sinwar was the driving unit down forging a person narration betwixt Hamas and the Lebanese enactment Hezbollah, with some groups maintaining adjacent links with the authorities successful Iran.

A concealed ballot saw Sinwar win Ismail Haniyeh arsenic caput of Hamas successful 2017, with Haniyeh becoming main of the party's governmental bureau and moving to Qatar for diplomatic purposes. Haniyeh was killed successful Iran successful July 2024, apt by Israeli quality agents.

Alongside Mohammed Deif, the caput of Hamas' al-Qassam brigades, Sinwar masterminded the battle connected villages, kibbutz, and subject outposts astir Gaza connected October 7. According to the New York Times, Israeli leaders had elaborate assessments of Hamas' readying for October 7 months earlier the violative began, though nary enactment was taken by Israeli governmental oregon subject leaders anterior to that day. Just nether 1,200 radical were killed successful the areas penetrated by Hamas militants surrounding Gaza; 851 of them civilians.

In May 2024, the International Criminal Court announced it was seeking warrants for the apprehension of Sinwar connected charges of warfare crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC is besides seeking warrants connected akin charges for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF main Yoav Gallant.

Gaza's Health Ministry, which is tally by Hamas' civilian wing, says astir 40,000 Palestinians person been killed by Israel successful the past year, nevertheless that toll has remained fixed for respective months. An unfastened missive to Western governmental leaders signed by dozens of doctors who volunteered successful Gaza says the decease toll is apt to beryllium implicit 100,000 - 5% of Gaza's pre-war population.