Hamas leader was obsessed with destroying Israel

The political leader of Hamas and mastermind of the October 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar, was confirmed dead this Thursday (17) after an Israeli attack in Rafah, in the extreme south of the Gaza Strip.

Sinwar has become the Israeli Army’s most wanted man since the start of the war last year, when terrorists invaded Israeli territory and killed more than a thousand people. Until this week, his whereabouts were practically unknown to the Defense forces, but it was believed that he was in one of the tunnels built in the enclave to escape the neighboring country’s radar.

The radical leader represented Hamas’s toughest and most belligerent line. Born in a refugee camp in the city of Khan Younis, Sinwar was elected militia leader in Gaza in 2017 after building a reputation as a staunch enemy of Israel, and on August 6 – following the death in Tehran of the then head of the office politician, Ismail Haniyeh – was chosen for the highest post on the terrorist group’s organizational chart.

Sinwar, 61, is so famous for his radicalism that he became known by the nickname “Khan Younis’ Butcher”, due to his career marked by extreme violence and immense power within Hamas.

His journey within the Palestinian militia began in the 1980s, when he was recruited by the founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, killed by Israel in 2004. Yassin’s recognition came after Sinwar was arrested by Israel for the first time in 1982, at the age of 19.

Two years after the group’s founding, in 1987, the most recently killed leader created a feared military unit that was tasked with repressing suspected treasoners and enforcing strict “Islamic morality” laws, the Al Majd.

His actions as head of this military unit earned him a feared reputation in the Palestinian enclave and among his adversaries.

His ease in conducting violent operations and his growing influence became even more evident in 1988, when he helped kidnap and murder two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. After this act, Sinwar was captured and arrested by Israeli forces, and was sentenced in the country to a 22-year sentence.

In 2011, he was freed in an exchange of more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was detained in Gaza.

For the militia leader, “armed struggle” was the only way to force the creation of a Palestinian nation, four Palestinian officials and two government sources in the Middle East told the Times of Israel newspaper.

Hamas’s extremist ideology sees Israel as an enemy force that must be destroyed as outlined in the group’s Charter of Principles, a view strongly defended by Sinwar even before he became the terrorist group’s top leader.

Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip more than a year ago, his whereabouts were virtually unknown to Israel, which predicted that the Hamas leader would be in one of the tunnels, close to some of the approximately 100 hostages still held in the enclave as protection.

Sinwar’s death occurred in a clash between infantry troops and Hamas fighters during a routine patrol on Wednesday afternoon (16) in Rafah, according to Israeli press reports, citing military sources.