He is responsible for the current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas Movement. Reports suggest that he was the mastermind behind Hamas’ surprise rocket attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Before taking over the Hamas leadership from Ismail Haniyeh (b. January 29, 1962) in February 2017, Yahya Sinwar (born Yaḥyá al-Sanwār in 1962, also spelled Yehya Sinwar) spent 24 years in Israeli prisons. While the US has declared Sinwar as a terrorist, Israel has used the term ‘Osama bin Laden of Palestine‘ to describe him. He became the top leader of the Palestinian Movement after experiencing several ups and downs. Sinwar was elected Supreme Ruler of the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip in 2017.

Sinwar was born at a refugee camp in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip in 1962. At that period of time, Egypt used to control the southern part of Gaza. The Israeli Army often taunts Sinwar as ‘Khan Yunis’ butcher‘. Many say that his family used to live in the village of al-Majdal Asqalan. The village, depopulated in 1948, is currently a part of Ashkelon in Israel. According to sources close to the Hamas leader, the seeds of anti-Israel sentiment were hidden in Sinwar’s family history. Sinwar, through his actions, practically transformed the sentiment into reality.

The 61-year-old Sinwar earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Arabic Studies from Gaza’s Islamic University. He got involved in a number of anti-Israel activities during his student days. He was first arrested in 1982 on charges of spreading violence. Thereafter, he went to jail several times. In the 1980s, Sinwar, together with Palestinian activist Salah Shehade, started targeting Israeli agents. After Hamas emerged as a political outfit in 1987, he merged his organisation with it. Attacks on Israel increased after he joined Hamas.

Although the Israeli Administration detained him several times, it failed to bring Sinwar under control. Instead, Israel, which is more advanced in terms of military power and economic strength than Palestine, has to be in trouble time and again because of the Hamas leader. Sinwar was arrested in 1988 for his alleged involvement in the assassination of two Israeli soldiers. He also eliminated four Palestinian people for working as informers for Israel. Members of Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, entered Israel after digging a tunnel into the country in 2006, killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped one. Israel had no other option, but to free Sinwar in exchange for the release of the hostage. Tel Aviv also released several other Palestinian prisoners.

After his release from prison in 2011, Sinwar established himself as the second most important leader of Hamas after Ismail Haniyeh. He became the unofficial head of Hamas after Haniyeh went into self-imposed exile. Sinwar is known for his rigid principles, as he is not willing to compromise on the Israel issue. He has been accused of delivering heated speeches at several meetings in order to unite the Palestinians against Israel. Meanwhile, there has been a debate about Sinwar’s activities within Hamas. Once, Hamas Commander Mahmoud Ishtiwi was accused of embezzlement and moral crimes amid suspicions of gay sex. Sinwar is believed to have been behind the 2015 detention, torture and killing of Ishtiwi. It is alleged that Sinwar ordered the killing of the Commander because he did not want to compromise with Hamas’ declared policy.

Hamas carried out surprise rocket attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,300 Israelis. According to defence experts, it was a total failure of Israel’s famous secret services, including Mossad, as they had no prior information about the surprise attacks. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have claimed that Sinwar planned the rocket attacks. The IDF have further claimed that the Hamas leader and his associates are being constantly monitored by the Israeli Army. The IDF have made it clear that Israel wants to take Sinwar to Tel Aviv in order to teach him a proper lesson.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das