Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by the IDF in Gaza. Israeli TV reported it. The raid in which the Hamas leader was killed targeted “an operational meeting point for Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists which is located inside a compound in the north of the Gaza Strip and which previously housed the Abu Hassan school”. According to the IDF and the Shin Bet, the targeted terrorists were involved in rocket attacks against Israeli territory and in the planning and implementation of attacks against troops and civilians.
« Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue them and eliminate them” writes Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Gallant makes no mention of Sinwar, but publishes photos of former Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with Xs on them, along with a third blacked-out photo, also with an crosses. While Channel 12 announces that «all tests carried out indicate that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated».
Sinwar was born in 1962 in the Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza and soon joined Hamas, becoming one of the founders of its armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, in the late 1980s. He was arrested by Israeli authorities in 1988 and sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in attacks against Israeli soldiers and collaborators. During his time in prison, he became a leading figure within Hamas. In 2011, he was released in a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, known as the “Shalit deal”, which resulted in the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for over a thousand prisoners.
After his release, Sinwar quickly regained influence within the movement, and in 2017 he was elected head of Hamas in Gaza, taking a key leadership position in the group’s operations. Considered a hawk, he is known for his militant approach and support for the use of force against Israel. However, he also participated in various negotiations for truces and ceasefire agreements through international mediators, while maintaining a very hard line towards Israel, so much so that it planned the massacres of 7 October 2023. Sinwar had become the head of Hamas after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in an attack in Tehran in July. His appointment came through the Hamas Shura Council, a 50-member consultative body. The Council is made up of officials elected by Hamas members from four main sections: Gaza, the West Bank, the diaspora of security prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked his military secretary to instruct the IDF spokesman to inform the families of the abductees that there were no signs of damage suffered by the hostages in the clash in Gaza in which three terrorists including the leader of Hamas Sinwar. Now that the terrorist organization has been destroyed in all its operational command structures, the war could change course. We’ll know soon.
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