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Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekly: May 24-31, 2025
Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekly: May 24-31, 2025

Memri

time9 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Memri

Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Weekly: May 24-31, 2025

The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@ with "Membership" in the subject line.) Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@ Please include your name, title, and organization in your email. EXCLUSIVE: Palestinian Factions, Iran-Backed Iraqi Militias, Jihadi Clerics Celebrate Deadly Shooting At Jewish Event In Washington DC By Pro-Palestinian Activist Who Yelled 'Free Palestine!' On May 21, 2025, a shooting attack took place outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where the American Jewish Committee was holding an event for young professionals. EXCLUSIVE: Reacting To Shooting At Jewish Event In Washington D.C., Iran-Backed Houthi Leader Dismisses 'Biased' Stance, 'Exploitation' Of Incident To Silence Anti-War Voices; Pro-Hamas Media Outlet Likens Shooter To Yahya Sinwar On May 21, 2025, a shooting attack took place outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where the American Jewish Committee was holding an event for young professionals. EXCLUSIVE: New Sunni Jihadi Organization In Lebanon, The Ahmad Al-Assir Brigade, Calls To Overthrow Lebanon's 'Sectarian Regime' And Establish Muslim Government Under Its Auspices; Says U.S. Embassy Is 'Base Of Collaborators, Agents, And Spies' On May 24, 2025, a new Sunni jihadi organization in Lebanon opened a Telegram channel (at the time of writing its followers numbered 17) and posted an approximately three-minute video announcing its establishment. EXCLUSIVE: "The Free Masked Man Movement" – A New Opposition Organization In Saudi Arabia, Comes Out Against The "Tyranny And Corruption" Of The Royal Family; Builds Military And Security Capabilities Towards A Possible Confrontation With The Authorities On May 22, 2025, a new opposition movement to the Saudi regime announced its establishment. EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian Islamist Cleric With Ties To 2009 'Underwear Bomber' Denied Entry To Saudi Arabia, Sent Back To Nigeria A Nigerian cleric was deported from Saudi Arabia while attempting to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Syrian Opposition Group Claims Attack Against Russian Forces At Khmeimim Air Base in Syria's Latakia Governorate, Threatens Russia To Leave Syria Within Month Or 'We'll Send You Back To Russia As Headless Corpses' On May 21, 2025, a Syrian opposition group released an announcement on its Telegram channel claiming that two former HTS (Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham) operatives were killed in an "inghimasi" operation (commando-style attack behind enemy lines) against Russian forces at the Khmeimim Air Base, in Syria's Latakia governorate. In Interview With Lebanese Daily, Shari'a Official Of Syria's Ansar Al-Sunnah Battalions Declares Targeting Minorities Current Priority, Denies Affiliation With Islamic State (ISIS) In recent months, a new jihadi group has emerged in Syria claiming attacks on religious minorities, particularly Alawites and Druze. Anti-Syrian Government Faction Shares Memo Attributed To ISIS Threatening Security Personnel, Foreign Fighters: 'Repent Before It Is Too Late' On May 23, 2025, a Telegram channel which is affiliated with the country's Shi'ite Alawite community shared an alleged copy of a memo attributed to the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, which it said was circulated on outlets "close to the organization." Islamic Resistance Front In Syria – Formidable In Might Militia Tightens Relations With Hizbullah-Backed Baqiyat Allah Brigades On May 23, 2025, the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria – Formidable in Might militia posted a joint press release on its Telegram channel with a militia which is backed by Lebanese Hizbullah, announcing that the leadership of both factions had recently held "a wide-ranging coordination meeting." Fatwa By Syria-Based Jihadi Clerics: Normalization With Israel Apostasy From Islam On May 22, 2025, a Syrian committee comprised of ten Islamic clerics based in Syria under the supervision of an Egyptian-born cleric, published a fatwa on its Telegram channel ruling that normalizing relations with Israel is forbidden by Islam and anyone who does so becomes an apostate, whose life and property are forfeit. Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Claims Two Same-Day Ballistic Missile Attacks On Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, Two Drone Attacks On Unidentified 'Vital Sites' In Haifa, Tel Aviv On May 22, 2025, the Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) issued statements claiming missile and drone attacks targeting Israel's Ben Gurion Airport as well as two unidentified "vital" sites in Haifa and Tel Aviv. Ansar Allah Houthi Movement Claims Ballistic Missile Attack On Ben Gurion International Airport Yemen's Ansar Allah Houthi Movement claimed responsibility for firing missiles at Ben Gurion International Airport, as well as a "vital target" near Tel Aviv, Israel. In His Weekly Speech, Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthi) Movement Leader Denounces 'Atrocities' In Gaza, Calls For Islamic Awakening, Reaffirms Houthis' Continuous Support Of Gaza Against Israel On May 22, 2025, Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthi) Movement's leader delivered his weekly speech in which he denounced the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, criticizing Arab and Western alleged complicity. Pro-Hizbullah Daily: Southern Syrian Tribes Seeking Weapons, Training From Parties In Turkey To Confront Israel, Syrian Government On May 24, 2025, a pro-Hizbullah Lebanese daily published an article which quoted "field sources" in southern Syria's Daraa governorate, who claimed that "security tensions" have increased in the area due to the incursions of Israeli forces and fears of a resurgence of Islamic State (ISIS) cells, which were previously active in the area. Iran-Backed Media Outlets React To Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthi) Movement's 'Naval Blockade' Of Haifa Port On May 19, 2025, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi Ansar Allah Houthi Movement declared the imposition of a naval blockade of Israel's Port of Haifa. Islamic State (ISIS) Provinces Escalate Attacks Across West Africa The Islamic State (ISIS) in West Africa and the Sahel launched coordinated attacks on military targets in Nigeria and Niger, causing significant casualties, destruction, and seizure of military equipment and facilities. Islamic State (ISIS) Weekly Newsletter Praises West Africa Province For Attacks On Military Camps In Nigeria, Niger And Cameroon On May 22, 2025, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 496 of its weekly newsletter. ISKP Magazine Questions Encryption Claims Of Messaging App, Cautions Jihadis Against Using It, Assesses Security Of WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, Facebook, TikTok, Signal The most recent issue of an English-language monthly magazine published by a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS)," features a long article cautioning Islamic State fighters who started switching from Telegram to new social media platform Gem Space in view of the latter's weak security. Posters By Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Media Outlets Present Perpetrators Of Attacks In The West As Role Models, Encourage Media Incitement Of Jihad On May 23, 2025, the Islamic State (ISIS) official English-language media outlet published English translations of two posters by unofficial pro-ISIS media groups inciting attacks in the West and media jihad. ISIS Supporter Shares Post Arguing That Inciting Violence, Expressing Support For Terror Groups Is Permissible According To U.S. Free Speech Laws On May 24, 2025, a user on the Islamic State (ISIS)-operated server shared a post from an X (formerly Twitter) account. Islamic State (ISIS) Supporters Launch Fundraising Campaign For Jihad, Encourage Muslims To Be 'Mujahideen' With Their Wealth On May 24, 2025, a platform that publishes and spreads official Islamic State (ISIS) material advertised a fundraising campaign for a mujahideen organization. Reacting To Reports Of AI Model That Blackmailed Users, Islamic State (ISIS) Supporter Envisions Similar Model Created For Jihadi Activity On May 25, 2025, a user of the Islamic State (ISIS)-operated server envisioned the creation of an artificial intelligence (AI) engine by jihadis and their supporters. Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Outlet Releases Posters Exploiting Death Of Pope Francis To Discourage Interfaith Tolerance On May 19, 2025, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released two English-language translations of posters originally created by pro-ISIS foundations. Supporter Of Islamic State (ISIS) Warns Against Joining WhatsApp Groups, Advises Other Supporters To Stay On Encrypted Forums A supporter of the Islamic State (ISIS) warned other supporters against joining WhatsApp groups which require phone numbers. Anti-ISIS Outlet Claims ISIS's Central Media Is 'Powerless' As Supporter Outlet Continues Fraudulent Activities, Noncompliance With Organization's Rules An anti-Islamic State (ISIS) channel on the Al-Qaeda-operated server posted a report highlighting ISIS's central media's inability to control a prolific pro-ISIS media outlet's non-adherence to the rules of the organization governing the dissemination of exclusive claims. Al-Qaeda Affiliate GSIM Documents Attack On Military Position In Central Mali; 40 Soldiers Killed, Vehicles And Large Quantities Of Military Equipment Captured On May 23, 2025, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), issued a brief "breaking" claim of an attack on a military position in Dioura, in central Mali's Mopti region, in which the group's fighters seized control over the site, adding that there were "reports of heavy casualties in the enemy ranks." Al-Qaeda Affiliate In Somalia Al-Shabab Claims Responsibility For Killing Two Ugandan Soldiers And Damaging The French Embassy In An Attack On Halane Training Facility In Mogadishu On May 20, 2025, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), claimed responsibility for shelling the Halane Training Facility, described as the largest military base hosting international forces and "dozens" of Western embassies in Mogadishu. Pro-Al-Qaeda Ideologue Lambasts Arab Gulf States After Trump's Middle East Tour: 'If Supporting The Head Of Global Heresy With Trillions Is Not Heresy, Then There Is Not Heresy In The World[;] Do You Understand Who Is Funding The War Against Islam And Muslims?' An Al-Qaeda ideologue accused Arab Gulf States of betraying Muslims after their leaders recently received President Trump during his Middle East tour and concluded investment deals with Washington. Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Hibbatullah Akhundzada To Cadets: 'Do Not Abandon Jihad, Do Not Abandon Supporting The Mujahideen, Do Not Be Afraid Of These Unbelievers... Prepare Yourselves For Martyrdom, Prepare Yourselves For Prison' On May 1, 2025, the Afghan Taliban's state-owned RTA TV released a Pashto-language video showing Taliban cadets demonstrating various skills at a graduation ceremony attended by senior Taliban leaders, including the Defense Minister Mullah.

Ignore the Left-wing naysayers, Israel is winning this necessary war
Ignore the Left-wing naysayers, Israel is winning this necessary war

Telegraph

time21 hours ago

  • General
  • Telegraph

Ignore the Left-wing naysayers, Israel is winning this necessary war

The EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, says 'Israeli strikes in Gaza go beyond what is necessary to fight Hamas'. Perhaps she should head to Jerusalem and give precise instructions to the IDF on what they should be doing to eliminate the Hamas terrorist regime – assuming that's what she actually wants. She can tell them how you kill terrorists entwined into the population, hiding in tunnels beneath schools, hospitals and houses, protected by the most comprehensively booby-trapped terrain in the history of warfare, all while minimising harm to civilians. Of course, like so many other blowhard Western politicians, she doesn't have a clue. Fortunately the IDF does and has been waging this hugely complex war for 19 months with a combination of fighting prowess and humanitarian restraint that no other army could match. That is the true picture that I have witnessed with my own eyes, unlike the vast array of armchair commentators and rabble-rousers with their lies and distortions intended to break Israel or signal their own non-existent virtues or both. And Israel has had unparalleled success. They have killed something like 20-25,000 Hamas terrorists, including many senior commanders. The latest of these is Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas's leader in Gaza, blown apart in an air strike earlier this month as he was skulking in a tunnel beneath a hospital in Khan Younis. His older brother Yahya, from whom he took over the reins of Hamas, met his maker last October. Shortly before that Mohammed Deif, Hamas's military commander, saw the same fate. The list goes on, and many more would have joined it had the IDF not been so determined to avoid killing the hostages and where possible to avoid harm to civilians in line with their scrupulously observed obligations under International Humanitarian Law. Those who have been dispatched have been replaced, though by less experienced and less able terrorists, but I'm not sure how long the list of applicants will be for the Sinwar brothers' uniquely hazardous job. Kallas also rejects Israel's latest efforts to get aid to Gazan civilians while preventing it from falling into the hands of Hamas. While she pontificates from her headquarters in Brussels with its lavish restaurants, Gazans have been enthusiastically queuing up in their thousands to collect food and even camping out overnight. But Kallas is in good company. Hamas also rejects this aid system and has been threatening Gazans against using it. Nor does the UN like it one little bit, despite the outrageously fake assertion last week that 14,000 babies would die of malnutrition in 48 hours. Hamas's position is understandable. It is focused on survival and pretty much its only source of funds now is from hijacking and selling aid at premium prices. But what about Kallas, the UN and even our own Government which also does not support this new initiative? It is hard to escape the conclusion, with the growing chorus of condemnations against Israel, that these people are terrified Jerusalem will win this war. That's the last thing they want as it would undermine any leverage they might have in pursuit of the holy grail of a 'two state solution'. Lacking insight, or terrified of being seen to have been wrong all along, they utterly fail to recognise that a two state solution is permanently interred after Hamas hammered the final nail into its coffin on October 7 2023. Unfortunately for the unholy alliance against its victory, Israel is going to prevail – and not just in Gaza. Prime minister Netanyahu launched a dazzling operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon last year that eliminated its overlord Hassan Nasrallah and took out much of its leadership by using explosive-laden pagers. Meanwhile the IDF shattered much of its military capability, especially the long-range missiles that existed to threaten Israel. Hezbollah is not finished but its potential to cause harm has been dramatically degraded. It will have difficulty rebuilding as it has lost the vital terrain of Assad's Syria, again as a direct result of Israeli action. Iran itself, the mastermind of the jihadist plan to suffocate Israel using region-wide terror proxies, was humiliated by its failure to damage Israel with hundreds of missiles and drones, not to mention an inability to protect Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who was taken out right next to the president's official residence in Tehran. Even worse, the Islamic Republic is now badly exposed, following the Israeli Air Force's evisceration of its Russian-supplied air defences. The likes of Kallas and her faint-hearted fellow travellers have no power to stand in Israel's path, but their words and threatened actions certainly encourage Hamas. Apart from the hostages it holds, its only card is the vilification of Israel by the international community and the accompanying weaponisation of legal warfare. Hamas could end all the bloodshed and the deprivation overnight by laying down its arms and releasing the hostages. If the EU, the UN and those governments so eager to condemn the Jewish state actually wanted to achieve peace, they would support Israel in words and actions, and condemn Hamas at every turn.

Israel Stops Training Women Combat Soldiers Over 'Health Risks'
Israel Stops Training Women Combat Soldiers Over 'Health Risks'

NDTV

timea day ago

  • Politics
  • NDTV

Israel Stops Training Women Combat Soldiers Over 'Health Risks'

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has ended a pilot programme under which female soldiers due to health and fitness concerns. The trained women were to serve in "combat mobility units" that deliver equipment and supplies to infantry forces in enemy territory and recover wounded soldiers, but IDF Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Eyal Zamir decided to pull the plug on Thursday (May 29), according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. As per IDF, though the professional performance of females undergoing the combat course was strong and equal to their male counterparts, their "physical and combat fitness levels fell short of the standards required for the role". IDF added that medical data indicated potential health risks for the women if they continued the current training, particularly since its intensity was due to increase. The new pilot programme for female infantry recruits will start next year after the cancellation of the current six-month scheme. Meanwhile, women who had enrolled in the course would be offered other combat opportunities in the military if they wished to continue, or they could switch to office duties if they preferred a change. Military service in the IDF is mandatory for both sexes, barring some exceptions. Women fighters have successfully worked in several special units such as Oketz, which works with dogs, the Yahalom combat engineers, and the 669 rescue unit. Israel-Hamas war Ever since Hamas-led terrorists rampaged through southern Israeli communities and killed around 1,200 people on October 7, 2023, Tel Aviv has launched an all-out campaign to avenge the losses. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the death of Hamas' Gaza chief, Muhammad Sinwar. Muhammad Sinwar was the brother of former Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in a clash with the Israeli military in October 2024. Yahya Sinwar had masterminded the October 7 terrorist attacks.

Mohammad Sinwar: Who is the elusive Hamas ‘ghost' Israel claims it finally got?
Mohammad Sinwar: Who is the elusive Hamas ‘ghost' Israel claims it finally got?

Malay Mail

timea day ago

  • General
  • Malay Mail

Mohammad Sinwar: Who is the elusive Hamas ‘ghost' Israel claims it finally got?

PALESTINE, May 30 — Mohammad Sinwar, the elusive Hamas military chief in Gaza who Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday had been eliminated, has long been at the top of Israel's most wanted list. Sinwar was elevated to the top ranks of Hamas in 2024 after the death in combat of his brother Yahya, mastermind of the 2023 attack on Israel that led to the war in Gaza and later named as overall Hamas leader. Hamas has yet to confirm Mohammad Sinwar's death, which would leave his close associate Izz al-Din Haddad, who currently oversees operations in northern Gaza, in charge of Hamas' armed wing across the whole of the enclave. It is unclear how Mohammad Sinwar's death, if confirmed, would affect decision-making in the overall group—for example whether his death would bolster or diminish the influence of exiled members of the group's leadership council in deciding policy in ceasefire negotiations. Hamas officials describe Sinwar and Haddad as 'ghosts' who have long outfoxed Israel's intelligence agencies. Like his brother Yahya, Sinwar had survived many Israeli assassination attempts, including airstrikes and planted explosives, Hamas sources said. When Sinwar once visited a cemetery, his comrades discovered that a remote-controlled explosive resembling a brick had been planted along his path, according to the Hamas sources. In 2003, Hamas operatives discovered a bomb planted in the wall of Mohammad Sinwar's house, foiling an assassination attempt that the group blamed on Israeli intelligence. Known for clandestine operations, Mohammad Sinwar played a central role in planning and executing Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the country's worst security failure, Hamas sources said. He was also widely believed to have been one of the masterminds of the 2006 cross-border attack and abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas held Shalit for five years before he was swapped for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel. Under the deal, his brother Yahya Sinwar, whose meticulous planning for the 2023 attack shattered Israel's reputation as an invincible power in a hostile region, was among those who were released. Reputation as a hardliner Netanyahu has vowed to eradicate Hamas, and the offensive against Gaza by the Middle East's most sophisticated and advanced military has severely weakened the organisation. But the group that was created during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in 1987 and which carried out suicide bombings that traumatized Israelis in the second one, is still standing. Born on September 16, 1975, Sinwar has rarely appeared in public or spoken to the media. Yahya Sinwar was killed in combat during a routine Israeli patrol in Gaza in 2024. Israel released footage of a severely wounded Yahya Sinwar throwing a piece of wood at a hovering drone, his last act of defiance towards his old foe before his death and his brother's rise. The Sinwars originally came from Asqalan - now the Israeli city of Ashkelon - and became refugees like hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians in what they call the Nakba, or catastrophe, during the birth of Israel during the 1948 war. The family settled in Khan Younis in Gaza, which has been largely reduced to rubble in the latest war. Mohammad Sinwar was educated in schools run by the U.N. Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA), which has long had tense relations with Israel, including during the current war in Gaza. He joined Hamas shortly after its founding, influenced by his brother Yahya, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest and at one time most influential Islamist group in the Middle East. His reputation as a hardliner helped him rise through the group's military ranks, and by 2005, he was leading Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade. The unit, one of the largest and most powerful battalions in Hamas's armed wing, has been responsible for cross-border attacks, firing rockets and planting bombs along the frontier. It also watches the movement of Israeli soldiers around the clock and in 2006, elite commandos led by Sinwar took part in Shalit's abduction. Sources close to Hamas say Sinwar developed close ties with Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas's military wing, and Mohammed Deif, the aloof military chief assassinated by Israel. — Reuters

Mohammad Sinwar: The elusive Hamas ‘ghost' Israel claims it finally got
Mohammad Sinwar: The elusive Hamas ‘ghost' Israel claims it finally got

Malay Mail

timea day ago

  • General
  • Malay Mail

Mohammad Sinwar: The elusive Hamas ‘ghost' Israel claims it finally got

PALESTINE, May 30 — Mohammad Sinwar, the elusive Hamas military chief in Gaza who Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday had been eliminated, has long been at the top of Israel's most wanted list. Sinwar was elevated to the top ranks of Hamas in 2024 after the death in combat of his brother Yahya, mastermind of the 2023 attack on Israel that led to the war in Gaza and later named as overall Hamas leader. Hamas has yet to confirm Mohammad Sinwar's death, which would leave his close associate Izz al-Din Haddad, who currently oversees operations in northern Gaza, in charge of Hamas' armed wing across the whole of the enclave. It is unclear how Mohammad Sinwar's death, if confirmed, would affect decision-making in the overall group—for example whether his death would bolster or diminish the influence of exiled members of the group's leadership council in deciding policy in ceasefire negotiations. Hamas officials describe Sinwar and Haddad as 'ghosts' who have long outfoxed Israel's intelligence agencies. Like his brother Yahya, Sinwar had survived many Israeli assassination attempts, including airstrikes and planted explosives, Hamas sources said. When Sinwar once visited a cemetery, his comrades discovered that a remote-controlled explosive resembling a brick had been planted along his path, according to the Hamas sources. In 2003, Hamas operatives discovered a bomb planted in the wall of Mohammad Sinwar's house, foiling an assassination attempt that the group blamed on Israeli intelligence. Known for clandestine operations, Mohammad Sinwar played a central role in planning and executing Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the country's worst security failure, Hamas sources said. He was also widely believed to have been one of the masterminds of the 2006 cross-border attack and abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas held Shalit for five years before he was swapped for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel. Under the deal, his brother Yahya Sinwar, whose meticulous planning for the 2023 attack shattered Israel's reputation as an invincible power in a hostile region, was among those who were released. Reputation as a hardliner Netanyahu has vowed to eradicate Hamas, and the offensive against Gaza by the Middle East's most sophisticated and advanced military has severely weakened the organisation. But the group that was created during the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation in 1987 and which carried out suicide bombings that traumatized Israelis in the second one, is still standing. Born on September 16, 1975, Sinwar has rarely appeared in public or spoken to the media. Yahya Sinwar was killed in combat during a routine Israeli patrol in Gaza in 2024. Israel released footage of a severely wounded Yahya Sinwar throwing a piece of wood at a hovering drone, his last act of defiance towards his old foe before his death and his brother's rise. The Sinwars originally came from Asqalan - now the Israeli city of Ashkelon - and became refugees like hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians in what they call the Nakba, or catastrophe, during the birth of Israel during the 1948 war. The family settled in Khan Younis in Gaza, which has been largely reduced to rubble in the latest war. Mohammad Sinwar was educated in schools run by the U.N. Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA), which has long had tense relations with Israel, including during the current war in Gaza. He joined Hamas shortly after its founding, influenced by his brother Yahya, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest and at one time most influential Islamist group in the Middle East. His reputation as a hardliner helped him rise through the group's military ranks, and by 2005, he was leading Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade. The unit, one of the largest and most powerful battalions in Hamas's armed wing, has been responsible for cross-border attacks, firing rockets and planting bombs along the frontier. It also watches the movement of Israeli soldiers around the clock and in 2006, elite commandos led by Sinwar took part in Shalit's abduction. Sources close to Hamas say Sinwar developed close ties with Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas's military wing, and Mohammed Deif, the aloof military chief assassinated by Israel. — Reuters

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