Yahya Sinwar, head of the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, waves his hand to the crowd during the celebration of International Quds Day in Gaza City. Credit – Yousef Masoud—SOPA Images/LightRocket
On Thursday, the Israeli army stated that it is “checking the possibility” that they killed Hamas top leader Yahya Sinwar, who is said to have orchestrated the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, in the Gaza Strip.
Three militants were killed during an exchange of fire with the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in Gaza on Wednesday, but Sinwar’s death hasn’t been confirmed.
“During IDF operations in Gaza, 3 terrorists were eliminated,” The IDF said in a statement Thursday. “The IDF and ISA are checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar,” referring to the Israeli Security Agency.
The statement also said that there were “no signs of the presence of hostages in the area.”
Who is Yahya Sinwar?
Sinwar, 62, was raised to the role of Hamas’ top leader following the assassination of previous Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh in July in Tehran, Iran, by an apparent Israeli strike. Since then, Sinwar has been regarded as by far the most influential leader in power in Gaza and has been called the “mastermind” behind the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel that left 1,200 people dead and saw more than 250 people taken as hostages.
Sinwar was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southwestern Gaza, and joined Hamas at a young age. In 1989, he was convicted of abducting and killing two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians he suspected were in cahoots, and served 22 years in prison in Israel
Sinwar was eventually released in a 2011 prisoner exchange that freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, at which point Sinwar returned to his role with Hamas. He then ascended to a leadership position in Gaza in 2017.
Sinwar’s death is a main objective for Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his office have stated that the search for Hamas leaders and ending their “governing capabilities” have been at the forefront of their operations in Gaza—operations which, according to Gaza health officials, have killed 41,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, since the war began. Further, Israeli strikes have leveled much of the Strip—and driven 90% of the Palestinian population from their homes and brought over 1.8 million people to crisis levels of hunger, according to the Integrated Food Security Classification.
Israeli Defense Minister Yael Gallant took to X to provide a vague, but pointed, post in the immediate aftermath of the news.
“Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them,” Gallant wrote.
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