Top terrorist is dead Who was Hamas chief Sinwar - and is his brother now taking over?
Israel has already eliminated numerous top terrorists since October last year - and has now probably killed the mastermind of the October 2023 massacre. Who was top terrorist Jihia al-Sinwar?
17.10.2024, 21:40
17.10.2024, 23:37
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- According to Israel, it has killed the Hamas chief and mastermind of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023.
- Israel arrested Sinwar in the late 1980s. Sinwar was sentenced to four life sentences, including for the killing of two Israeli soldiers.
- After his return, Sinwar became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and took control of the area.
- Sinwar was ultimately one of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2011 as part of an exchange for an Israeli soldier.
- Sinwar, together with Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing, is considered the mastermind behind the surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
According to Israel, Hamas leader Jihia al-Sinwar was killed during a military operation in the Gaza Strip. There was initially no confirmation from Hamas on Thursday evening. If Sinwar's death is confirmed, this would be an important moment in Israel's war against Hamas - and a bitter setback for the militant Islamist Palestinian organization. At the same time, his presumed death could complicate efforts to secure the release of dozens of Hamas hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, on the other hand, saw the killing of Sinwar as a new opportunity for their release.
Sinwar was considered one of the masterminds behind the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremists on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the Gaza War. After the assassination of the previous political leader of the militant Islamist group, Ismail Haniya, in Tehran in July, Sinwar became its leader. So who was the man that all of Israel wanted to see dead?
From refugee camp to Hamas
Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in the city of Chan Junis in the south of the Gaza Strip. He is considered a member of the first generation of Hamas, which was founded in 1987. He rose to become the leader of the group's security apparatus, which took action against informants for Israel.
Israel arrested Sinwar at the end of the 1980s. He admitted to killing twelve suspected collaborators. This earned him the nickname "The Butcher of Chan Junis".
Sinwar was sentenced to four life sentences, including for the killing of two Israeli soldiers.
A leader in prison
Sinwar organized strikes in prison to improve working conditions. He also studied Hebrew and gained knowledge of Israeli society. In 2008, he survived a brain tumor after being treated by Israeli doctors.
Sinwar was one of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2011 as part of an exchange for an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid.
Rise to power in Gaza
After his return to the Gaza Strip, Sinwar quickly rose through the ranks of the Hamas leadership and soon became notorious for his ruthlessness. He is widely believed to have been behind the assassination of another senior Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtewi, in an internal power struggle in 2016.
Sinwar became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and thus took control of the territory. Together with political leader Hanija, he helped to ally the group with Iran and the Tehran-backed militias in the region, while at the same time expanding Hamas' military capabilities.
The attack on Israel on October 7
It is believed that Sinwar, together with Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas' military wing, planned the surprise attack on Israel on October 7. The terrorist attack claimed the lives of around 1200 people, most of them civilians. According to the local Hamas-controlled health authorities, more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the subsequent Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas declared that it had carried out the terrorist attack on October 7 in retaliation for Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. It was also intended to put the Palestinian cause back on the world's agenda.
In May, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, requested arrest warrants for Sinwar, Deif and Hanija for their role in the terrorist attack. According to Israel's military, Deif was killed in an attack in July. Hamas, however, claims that he is still alive.
What comes after Sinwar?
Sinwar had been in hiding since October 7. Negotiators struggling for a ceasefire in Gaza had stated that it could take several days before messages from the Hamas leader were sent or received.
Following the death of the Hamas leader, the question arises as to whether Hamas has been defeated. Observers do not believe this is likely. Sinwar's brother Mohammed plays an important role in Hamas' military structure. It is unclear whether he has taken over from Deif. He could follow in his brother's footsteps. In addition, under pressure from the powerful Israeli invasion, Hamas is no longer fighting in traditional military formations, but as a guerrilla force operating in small cells and in a decentralized manner.
Fate of the hostages remains unclear
The fate of around 100 hostages who are still being held by Hamas remains completely uncertain. Efforts to secure their release are likely to be even more difficult as long as it is not clear who is making the decisions at the top of Hamas. In addition, their captors could take revenge on them for the killing of Sinwar, as many of the hostages fear.
Even before he became the group's leader, Sinwar was considered to have had the last word on the release of the hostages held by the militant group. There are still around 100 hostages in the Gaza Strip, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.
But even a collapse of Hamas, which had ruled the Gaza Strip with an iron hand until the outbreak of war, would not necessarily create a clear situation. As Israel is not seeking military administration of the coastal area and does not appear to have any other concrete ideas for a Gaza without Hamas, a dangerous power vacuum is looming. This could lead to the spread of chaos and anarchy.
