Who Was Hamas Gaza Chief Muhammad Sinwar? From Yahya's ‘Shadow' To Oct 7 Israel Attacks Mastermind
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Yahya, who was killed last October, and Sinwar are believed to be the masterminds of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday that Hamas Gaza chief, Muhammad Sinwar had been eliminated.
On May 13, the Israel Security Agency and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed that Sinwar was targeted in an Israeli airstrike on a bunker under the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis. Saudi channel Al-Hadath claimed Sinwar's body was recovered from the tunnel along with Muhammad Shabana, but a confirmation was awaited.
Sinwar was the younger brother of the former Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli military in southern Gaza last October. Yahya and Sinwar are believed to be the masterminds of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.
Israel had placed a $300,000 bounty on information about Mohammed Sinwar's whereabouts.
Born in 1975 in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, Sinwar and his family fled a village near Ashkelon in 1948, settling in the southern Gaza Strip.
He joined the military movement of Hamas in 1991.
Arrested by Israel in 1991 for suspected terrorism, Sinwar was released within a year. But he was arrested for several years by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah in the 1990s.
Sinwar became the commander of Hamas' Khan Younis brigade in 2005. In 2006, he was a participant in the abduction of Gilad Shalit, who was released in 2011 in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Yahya.
Following the killing of Hamas's top military commander, Muhammad Deif, last July, he took charge of the terror group's military wing. After IDF troops killed Yahya, Sinwar became the de facto leader of the terror group in the Gaza Strip.
Sinwar was always seen as the one operating 'behind the scenes", which earned him the nickname of 'The Shadow'.
HOW SINWAR WENT BEYOND FAMILY INFLUENCE
According to Israeli media, Sinwar's familial ties to his older brother cemented his status within both Israel's security apparatus and the terror outfit.
'From the beginning of his career in Hamas, Muhammad worked alongside senior commanders, breathing and living pure terrorism," an Israeli senior security official said. 'Initially, he gained influence because of his family ties, but it didn't take long for his operational abilities, cruelty, interpersonal skills, and understanding of military strategy to be recognised," he added.
The Israeli, who tracked Sinwar since childhood, said that 'Working with senior leaders, along with the fact that his brother was imprisoned in Israel, sharpened his central goal: to carry out kidnappings that would lead to his brother's release, as well as other security prisoners, rather than attacks aimed solely at killing."
6 ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS IN 2021
As per Israeli media reports, more targeted killings were attempted against the younger Sinwar than any other senior Hamas figure before the attack by the Palestinian outfit triggered the war.
Earlier in 2014, Hamas announced that Sinwar had died during the Israel-Gaza War, but later the information was found to be incorrect.
In May 2021, Israel made six assassination attempts on Sinwar.
'Muhammad Sinwar was not only pivotal in the military development of Hamas, evolving from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades to the military wing and eventually a full-fledged army, but he also played a leading and influential role in several phases of the process," a former Israeli security official told The Jerusalem Post.
'It's no coincidence that his house has been destroyed several times in the past two decades. The operations to eliminate him were almost fantastical in scope, but they failed," the official added.
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