Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas Gaza Strip leader responsible for the atrocities carried out on October 7 in Israel, had threatened a large-scale assault nearly a year before the massacre. As one of the founders of Hamas' military wing, Sinwar rose to head the political bureau during the war following the elimination of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran.
On Oct. 17, 2024, a year and 10 days after the terrorist attacks on Israel, Israeli forces conducted a raid in the Gaza Strip's Rafah area that resulted in his elimination. It was unclear if it was a deliberate mission to take him out.
Born in 1962 in the Khan Younis refugee camp, Sinwar studied Arabic at Gaza's Islamic University, where he served a term as student council president while joining Hamas. He helped establish the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the "Majd" unit, tasked with eliminating suspected collaborators.
As Majd's southern Gaza chief, Sinwar personally executed suspects based on intelligence received. In one chilling instance, he buried a man alive, strangling him with a keffiyeh. Sinwar collaborated with Rawhi Mushtaha in the Majd unit, who became a close associate over the years before being eliminated last summer.
These killings led to Sinwar's arrest by Israel in 1989, resulting in five life sentences. Over two decades later, he was freed in the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange. Prison guards interviewed by Israel Hayom describe Sinwar as the undisputed leader among security prisoners, known for threatening guards and orchestrating hunger strikes. Upon his release, Sinwar vowed to secure freedom for his imprisoned comrades.
Sinwar married Samar Salha from Gaza City the year he was released, marking the beginning of his ascent in the terror organization's hierarchy. Initially serving on the political bureau, he coordinated between it and the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades' military wing, a role later assumed by Marwan Issa, the military wing's deputy chief. In the wake of Operation Protective Edge, Sinwar spearheaded a series of Hamas purges, detaining "suspected collaborators." Within a year, he found himself on the US most-wanted list.
Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 17, 2024
Five years prior to the October 7 attack, Sinwar was first elected to lead Hamas' political bureau in Gaza. In this role, he orchestrated the "March of Return" protests along the Gaza border. Following his 2021 re-election, he led Hamas through Operation Guardian of the Walls. As that conflict subsided, Sinwar declared Hamas' readiness for a "long-term truce" if Israel "lifted the siege" on Gaza and withdrew from the West Bank and east Jerusalem. However, he emphasized that this aligned with the broader Palestinian stance, while Hamas remained committed to "Israel's destruction."
In the year leading up to the October 7 attack, Sinwar alluded to war preparations, speaking of a "flood." Hamas later dubbed the mass killing and ensuing war the "Al-Aqsa Flood."
