Yahya Sinwar was an internationally designated senior Hamas leader with ties to the group’s political and military wings.
Latest
October 18, 2024: Hamas releases a statement on Telegram confirming Sinwar’s death, calling him one of the “great martyr leaders.” The group further vows to continue a “comprehensive” fight.
Overview
Yahya Sinwar was an internationally designated senior Hamas leader with ties to the group’s political and military wings. In February 2017 internal elections, Hamas elected Sinwar as its political chief in the Gaza Strip. Sinwar replaced deputy Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who replaced outgoing Qatar-based leader Khaled Meshaal in May 2017. Sinwar was a founding member of the forerunner of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He also founded Hamas’s Majd intelligence service, which targets alleged collaborators with Israel. Sinwar won re-election as Gaza’s political leader on March 10, 2021. Sinwar was accused of helping to orchestrate Hamas’s widescale attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the capture of approximately 240 civilian and military hostages. Israeli leaders vowed to kill Sinwar for his role in the attack. On August 6, 2024, Hamas announced Sinwar as the new chair of its political bureau following Haniyeh’s July 31 assassination. Sinwar’s new role was short lived. On October 16, 2024, Sinwar was killed during an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Date of Birth:
1962
Place of Birth:
Khan Younis, Gaza Strip
Place of Residence:
Gaza Strip
Education:
University
Citizenship:
Palestinian
Arrested:
1988: murderSinwar was arrested by Israeli authorities in 1988 for murdering Palestinian collaborators with Israel, and for his role in the capture and murder of two Israeli soldiers. He was sentenced in 1989 to four life sentences, and released in October 2011 as part of a swap of 1,000 Hamas prisoners for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Sinwar was one of the highest-ranking Hamas operatives to be released. Following his release, Sinwar told Hamas media that the group should “kidnap more soldiers to exchange them for the freedom of our loved ones who are still behind bars.” While in prison, Sinwar was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. In 2004, he was reportedly taken to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel, where doctors operated and removed the tumor.
Sinwar joined Hamas’s political bureau in April 2013. By early 2016, he had orchestrated power shifts within Hamas’s Gaza-based leadership—causing Meshaal to reportedly struggle to maintain authority. Sinwar has advocated closer ties with Iran, which has continued to fund the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades despite cutting funding to Hamas as a whole. In late 2016, Meshaal called for a suspension of smuggling beneath the Gaza-Egypt border as Hamas moved to reconcile with Egypt. In opposition to Hamas’s political leadership, Sinwar and the Qassam Brigades have continued their tunneling activities and coordination with ISIS’s affiliate in the Sinai, Wilayat Sinai.
Palestinian political observers told the Wall Street Journal in February 2017 that Sinwar’s political ascendance represented the failure of Hamas’s political leadership to promote its agenda over that of the military wing. Kobi Michael, a former head of the Palestinian Desk at Israel’s Ministry for Strategic Affairs, told the Associated Press that Sinwar represented “one of the most radical and extreme lines of Hamas.” Sinwar was designated by the U.S. Department of State in September 2015. The United Kingdom designated Sinwar on November 14, 2023.
On December 1, 2020, Hamas announced that Sinwar tested positive for COVID-19. The statement asserted that he was “fine and in good health,” and was “working normally according to safety protocols and medical quarantine.”
On February 2, 2021, members of Hamas’s leadership, including Sinwar, met with the chairman of Qatar’s Gaza Reconstruction Committee, Ambassador Mohammed al-Emadi, in Gaza. Hamas thanked Qatar for providing a $360 million grant to the Gaza Strip for 2021.
In March 2021, Sinwar ran for reelection as Gaza’s political leader in a secretive internal Hamas election against Mahmoud Zahar, Fathi Hammad, Ziyad al-Thatha, and Nizar Awadallah. On March 9, reports emanated from Gaza that Sinwar had lost the election to Awadallah, the former head of Hamas’s advisory Shura Council. However, some Palestinian sources told Israeli media that the vote was not final, and a second round would take place. On March 10, Sinwar won re-election in a runoff vote.
Early on May 16, 2021, Israel airstrikes targeted Sinwar’s home in Khan Younis. According to a spokesperson from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Sinwar was unharmed. The strikes occurred after a week of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket attacks on Israeli cities and Israeli retaliatory strikes against Gaza. On May 17, Eliezer Toledano, the head of the IDF Southern Command—who also holds a critical role in managing the battle against Hamas—stated that Sinwar could still be targeted by Israeli strikes. According to Toledano, Sinwar and the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades head, Mohammed Deif, remain in “Israel’s sights” as IDF troops will continue to go after Hamas fighters and leaders by targeting their “underground lairs until the end of fighting.” A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel went into effect on May 21 after 11 days of fighting, during which Hamas and PIJ launched more than 4,000 rockets at Israel. On May 22, Hamas held a military parade in Gaza City to celebrate its perceived victory, Sinwar made his first public appearance since the start of the conflict, visiting the family of Hamas commander Bassem Issa, who was killed during the fighting. A senior Hamas commander told Israeli media a new round of fighting would begin if Israel targeted either Sinwar or Deif.
In early May 2022, following a string of terror attacks in Israel that killed at least 19 people since that March, rumors circulated that Israel would specifically target Sinwar. Hamas claimed responsibility for an April 29 attack that killed a security guard at the West Bank settlement of Ariel. In an April 30 speech in Gaza, Sinwar called on Palestinians to ready their rifles or—if they did not have guns—cleavers, axes, and knives. Israel’s Channel 12 news station reported Israeli diplomatic and security officials had relayed a message to Sinwar that his calls to violence and the Ariel attack would allow Israel the freedom to respond militarily in Gaza. According to Israeli media, the Israelis also labeled Sinwar a “terror supporter” and warned he would be dealt with as appropriate. On May 5, As’ad Yousef As’ad al-Rifa’i and Subhi Emad Subhi Abu Shqeir killed three and wounded seven others with an axe and a knife in the Israeli city of Elad. The attack came after Israel’s warning to Sinwar, prompting media suspicion Sinwar’s speech may have influenced Rifa’i and Abu Shqeir. Hamas did not claim credit for the attack, nor were either attacker reported as members of Hamas. The following week, the Times of London reported Israeli officials had told foreign allies the Jewish state would restart targeted killings of Hamas leaders abroad if such attacks continued. The Times speculated Israel would target West Bank leader Saleh al-Arouri and Zaher Jabarin, responsible for financing Hamas’s international networks. On May 7, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV station reported Palestinian terror groups had threatened to resume terror attacks inside Israel if Israel begins targeting Palestinian militant leaders.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a mass attack on Israel, sending hundreds of fighters across the border into Israeli towns and military bases within 15 miles of the Gaza border while simultaneously launching a rocket barrage toward Israel. Hamas labeled the attack Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Written orders recovered from the bodies of dead Hamas fighters as well as video testimonials of Hamas attackers showed that Hamas fighters had been directed to kill as many people as possible. These orders contradicted statements from Hamas leaders that the terrorist group targeted only soldiers. Hamas killed approximately 1,200 Israelis in the attack and took hostage at least 240 Israeli civilians and soldiers in Gaza. Israel declared war on Hamas and launched an assault on Gaza to uproot the terrorist group. Israel’s military leaders named Sinwar, Deif, and deputy military leader Marwan Issa as their most wanted in Gaza, warning all three were on a kill list. Israel accused the three of forming a military council that planned and executed the October 7 attack.
As Israeli forces struck Hamas forces across the Gaza Strip, officials declared Sinwar to be a top military target. Unconfirmed reports claimed Israeli airstrikes destroyed Sinwar’s home in Gaza. IDF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht accused Sinwar of masterminding the October 7 attack, likening him to Osama bin Laden. Hecht announced that Sinwar was an IDF target and labeled him “the face of evil.” On October 9, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari labeled Sinwar “the commander of the campaign” and declared that Sinwar “is a dead man.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to Sinwar as “little Hitler in his bunker” with “no care for his people.”
In January 2024, the British newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported that Sinwar coordinated the October 7 attack with his brother Muhammad Sinwar, Deif, Rouhi Mushtaha, and Ayman Nofal. They reportedly chose the date of October 7 because of reports of calm along the border. They confirmed their plans on October 6 and waited until midnight that night to begin the attack with 70 fighters from elite Hamas units who were trained in infiltrating Israeli settlements. Palestinian sources told the newspaper that Hamas’s political leaders in Qatar were not informed of the attack until hours beforehand, when they received a briefing and instructions to go into hiding. The political leaders were reportedly not given details of the pending attack. After the first hour and a half, Hamas mobilized elite units within the Qassam Brigades to support the initial attackers.
On November 5, the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail newspaper published an interview with a senior Hamas commander who accused Sinwar and fellow Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh of changing the plan for October 7 at the last minute and inviting a devastating Israeli retaliation. According to the battalion commander, who identified himself only as Abu Mohammed, Hamas had originally planned only to kill Israeli soldiers and take some soldiers hostage. They had not planned to kill civilians. Abu Mohammed said he was one of the planners of October 7, but Haniyeh and Sinwar changed the plan and told fighters to “do what they like.” Abu Mohammed accused Sinwar of acting like a “street fighter,” while the Hamas leadership abroad did not bear the consequences for October 7 like the people of Gaza did. During interrogation in Israeli custody that December, former Hamas communications minister Yousef al-Mansi accused Sinwar and the Hamas leadership of setting Gaza back 200 years. In footage of the interrogation released by Israel’s Shin Bet security service on December 10, Mansi said, “People in the Gaza Strip say that Sinwar and his group destroyed us, we must get rid of them.” Mansi further accused Sinwar of “delusions of grandeur” and making decisions without consulting others.
Citing Palestinian sources, a March 2024 report by Sky News Arabia claimed the Hamas leadership had criticized Sinwar for launching the October 7 attack without prior consultation with Hamas’s political leaders. Sinwar reportedly consulted with his brother Muhammad Sinwar, Deif, and Issa. The four had not consulted the rest of the Hamas leadership and its political bureau, who were ignorant of the decision.
Following the October 7 attacks, Israel launched a manhunt for Sinwar. On November 4, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed to kill Sinwar. On November 7, Israel announced a four-hour window for civilians to evacuate Gaza City before its forces entered the city later that day. Gallant also announced that Sinwar was in the Gaza City vicinity in an underground bunker. A December 9 Israeli news report claimed Sinwar had fled northern Gaza in an IDF humanitarian convoy to Khan Younis during the beginning of the war. Israeli army sources told the Jerusalem Post that captured Hamas terrorists had accused Sinwar and other Hamas leaders of not caring about the people living in the coastal strip and denying reality. By December 10, Israeli forces were focusing on the areas of Jabaliya and Shajaiye in northern Gaza, and Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Israel had taken control of the area surrounding Hamas’s former headquarters in Gaza City. Tzahi Hanegbi, director of Israel’s national security council, rejected suggestions Sinwar and other Hamas leaders could be sent into exile like Yasser Arafat and the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization were exiled from Lebanon in the 1980s. Hanegbi reaffirmed that Israel’s intention was to kill Sinwar as a message to Hamas’s future leadership.
Over the weekend of March 9-10, 2024, Israeli warplanes killed Issa in a building in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Issa represented the highest-level Hamas death since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in October 2023. According to Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, the United States would help Israel locate other Hamas leaders and “justice will come for them too.” Sullivan claimed Hamas’s Gaza leadership likely remained in hiding in Gaza’s underground tunnel network.
Despite Sinwar’s international designations and his role in the October 7 attack, an English translation of a book he authored appeared on the merchant website Amazon in April 2024. Titled The Thorn and the Carnation Part 1, the book is a fictional novel about the Palestinian struggle against Israel. Sinwar wrote the book during his previous incarceration in Israel. Attorneys for the International Legal Forum sent a letter to Amazon owner and CEO Jeff Bezos demanding the book’s removal as the book violated Amazon’s own policies prohibiting the marketing of offensive content. The attorneys also warned that selling the book could expose Amazon to U.S. anti-terrorism laws. Amazon reportedly agreed to remove the book as of April 11. Nonetheless, the book remained online as of April 12.
Backed by the United States, Qatar and Egypt have continued to push for ceasefire discussions. On March 7, 2024, Hamas withdrew from discussions after Sinwar demanded Israel commit to discussing a permanent end to the war. Haniyeh reportedly favored a six-week pause in fighting. According to Egyptian officials cited by the Wall Street Journal, Sinwar believed Hamas had an advantage over Israel because of growing political divisions in Israel.
On July 31, 2024, Haniyeh was killed in his Tehran, Iran, guesthouse in what Hamas called a “treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran.” Haniyeh was in Tehran for the July 30 inauguration of the country’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Reuters initially reported on July 31 that Hamas had selected Meshaal to succeed Haniyeh. On August 6, Hamas officially named Sinwar as Haniyeh’s replacement. Meshaal endorsed Sinwar “in loyalty to Gaza and its people, who are waging the battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa.”“Hamas names Oct 7 mastermind Sinwar as leader after Haniyeh assassination,” Reuters, August 6, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-names-gaza-leader-yahya-sinwar-chief-following-haniyeh-killing-statement-2024-08-06/. In response to the news, Hamas fighters in Gaza launched a salvo of rockets. An unnamed senior Hamas official told Agence France-Presse that Sinwar’s selection was “a strong message to the occupation (Israel) that Hamas continues its path of resistance.”
On February 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice issued an indictment charging Sinwar and five other senior Hamas leaders with terrorism charges related to October 7. According to the indictment, the six leaders played central roles in planning, supporting, and perpetrating Hamas’s terrorist atrocities of October 7. In addition to Sinwar, the indictment charged Deif, Issa, Haniyeh, Meshaal, and Ali Baraka. The complaint specifically charged the six with conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, conspiracy to finance terrorism, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death, and conspiracy to support terrorism resulting in death. The complaint cited Hamas terrorist acts dating back to 1996. According to the Justice Department, the indictment was kept under seal to prevent Haniyeh and others from going into hiding. The Justice Department unsealed the indictment on September 3, 2024, after determining there was no longer sufficient reason to keep the indictment sealed after Haniyeh’s death that July.
Some Israeli officials suspected Sinwar was hiding in the Rafah area of Gaza along the Egyptian border. On February 26, 2024, the Washington Post reported that the IDF believed Sinwar was hiding in a tunnel network beneath southern Gaza’s Khan Younis area. According to Israeli sources, Sinwar surrounded himself with a human shield of hostages to deter Israeli attempts to capture or kill him. Israeli officials told the Washington Post that the war in Gaza could not end until Sinwar is captured, killed, or no longer able to run Hamas’s operations.
As of August 2024, the IDF reportedly suspected that Sinwar was hiding in Rafah, having observed people moving around the area with their faces covered, signaling that they were either senior Hamas officials or hostages. In September, Israeli forces discovered Sinwar’s DNA in urine collected from the tunnel complex beneath Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan neighborhood. It was the same complex in which the bodies of six dead Israeli hostages had been recovered on August 31.
Sinwar died during an Israeli operation in Gaza on October 16, 2024. A group of Israeli soldiers on a routine patrol in Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan neighborhood witnessed three suspected terrorists moving from house to house, one man following behind the other two. An ensuing firefight left one of the soldiers wounded and the two terrorists dead. The soldiers then sent a drone into an adjacent house where the third man had hidden. The drone recorded a wounded man sitting in a chair with his face covered with a keffiyeh. The man threw a stick toward the drone, and an Israeli sniper then shot the man while a tank fired a shell at the building. Israeli forces recovered the body and confirmed Sinwar’s identity after DNA and dental testing. On October 17, Netanyahu publicly confirmed Sinwar’s death, calling it “the sunset of Hamas’s evil reign” in Gaza. U.S. President Joe Biden issued a statement calling Sinwar’s death “a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.” An October 18 Hamas statement claimed that Sinwar’s death would “only increase the strength, steadfastness, and determination” of Hamas’s fighters “to continue on their path, and to be loyal to their blood and sacrifices.” A Hamas statement on Telegram confirmed Sinwar’s death, calling him one of the “great martyr leaders.” The group further vowed to continue a “comprehensive” fight for the “return and the establishment of the Palestinian state on the entire Palestinian national soil with Jerusalem as its capital.” On October 19, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called Sinwar’s death “undoubtedly painful for the Axis of Resistance,” but he pledged that “Hamas is alive and will remain alive.”“Iran’s supreme leader says Hamas leader’s death will not halt ‘Axis of Resistance,’” Reuters, October 19, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-supreme-leader-says-hamas-leaders-death-will-not-halt-axis-resistance-2024-10-19/.
Also Known As
Abu Ibrahim
Yahya al-Sinwar
Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar
Yehia Sinwar
Yehiya Sinwar
Yehiyeh Sinwar
Yehya al-Sinwar