Israel’s foreign minister confirms Hamas leader Sinwar is dead

He is considered to be the planner of the massacre on October 7th, when terrorists from the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas brutally murdered 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped around 250 as hostages to the Gaza Strip. Now is Jahia Sinwar to.

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces reported that it had “killed three terrorists in Gaza” and was investigating whether Sinwar was among the dead. A few hours later the confirmation came. “The mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the October 7 massacre and atrocities, was killed today by IDF soldiers,” Israel’s Foreign Minister said Israel Katz on Thursday evening, referring to the Israeli military.

The “Butcher”

“We will get Jahia Sinwar and we will kill him,” Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant swore last year – the vow has been fulfilled. Sinwar was born in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip in 1962 and quickly became radicalized. When Hamas was formed in the fight against Israeli occupation during the first Palestinian uprising, the Intifada, in the late 1980s, Sinwar was also involved in setting up Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades. In the early years of the Islamist movement, Sinwar was responsible for fighting suspected collaborators with Israel within his own ranks.

He was so brutal that he became known as the “Butcher of Khan Younis”. Yahya Sinwar did not have the nickname “12th” because he spent 24 years in Israeli prisons. The number refers to twelve suspected Palestinian collaborators whom he is said to have killed with his own hands: judge and executioner in one.

The prisoner

He dreamed of a country in which the Jews would be subjugated and would have to pay a special tax – at least at the beginning of his imprisonment, to which he was sentenced for murder in 1989.

Sinwar had often escaped death – for example during the years in prison when an Israeli dentist saved his life. In time, Sinwar was diagnosed with a tumor and removed.

In 2011, the Hamas terrorist was released along with more than 1,000 other Hamas criminals in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The son of his lifesaver was murdered by Hamas in the October 7 massacre.

Most wanted man

After his return to the Gaza Strip, Sinwar quickly rose in the hierarchy; is also said to have survived an assassination attempt. Thirteen years ago he finally managed to be elected leader of the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip.

Since then he has been Israel’s most wanted man there. In 2022, during one of his rare appearances in Gaza, he called for violence against Israel: “Anyone who has a weapon should prepare it. If you don’t have a weapon, take your slaughter knife, your axe,” he shouted to the crowd and also addressed the Palestinians in the West Bank: “The actions of individual perpetrators have proven their worth. One two, a maximum of three people may be involved. Beyond that, no one can know about it.”

Possible successors

When Hamas leader Ismail Haniya was killed in Tehran at the end of July, Sinwar took over the entire Hamas. With Sinwar, a large part of the terrorist organization has been eliminated, but there are plenty of possible successors. And it cannot be ruled out that Hamas will collapse due to the power struggles: there is Saher Jabarin, who has taken over the military leadership of Hamas in the West Bank and in practice is taking over day-to-day operations.

An unexpected career move. He only took over military leadership in the West Bank in April. After his predecessor, Salah al-Aruri, was targeted and killed in Beirut.

Khaled Mashal, who held the position of Hamas chief for several years, would have been only too happy to take the leadership chair again. But Sinwar’s supporters, who voted him out in 2017, prevented him from being re-elected. As do the Iranian lobbyists in the Hamas leadership. Maschal prefers the Arab allies in the Gulf. From a religious perspective, the alliance with Iran is only an alliance of convenience for Hamas.

It is questionable what will happen to the surviving Israeli hostages. Will there be negotiations and a possible “post-war agreement” and the release of the hostages? Israeli President Izchak Herzog said that “everything begins and everything ends with Jahia Sinwar.”