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Yahya sinwar biography
How is Yahia sinwar?
One of the main targets of Israel’s battle against Hamas in Gaza was Sinwar, who was referred to by a number of names by Israeli authorities, such as “the butcher from Khan Younis” and the “face of evil.” Once a highly visible figure, Sinwar had vanished from view following the October 2023 attacks. It is possible that he survived the final year of Israel’s siege of Gaza by hiding out in a large system of tunnels beneath the ground. Following the assassination of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Iran, in August, Sinwar rose to prominence as one of Hamas’ top commanders.
Yahya sinwar biography
Yahya Sinwar (born October 29, 1962, Khan Younis refugee camp, Gaza Strip—died October 16, 2024, Rafah, Gaza Strip) was the de facto leader of Hamas from 2017 to 2024 and the de jure leader as head of its political bureau from August 2024 to October 2024.
Early life
Born in 1962 in a refugee camp, Khan Younis Sinwar is often portrayed as one of the most uncompromising top Hamas officials. He was arrested by Israel repeatedly in the early 1980s for his involvement in anti-occupation activism at the Islamic University in Gaza.
Sinwar joined Hamas as one of its leaders almost as soon as the group was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1987. The following year, he was arrested by the Israeli forces and handed four life sentences—the equivalent of 426 years in jail—for alleged involvement in the capture and killing of two Israeli soldiers and four suspected Palestinian spies.
While incarcerated, Sinwar penned a novel about the Palestinian struggle, believed to be partly autobiographical, entitled The Thorn and the Carnation.
Biography of Yahya sinwar
He spent 23 years in Israeli jail, where he learned Hebrew and became well-versed in Israeli affairs and domestic politics. He was freed in 2011 as part of the prisoner exchange deal that saw the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by Hamas.
In 2017, Sinwar became Hamas’s chief in Gaza, succeeding Haniyeh, who was elected as the chair of the group’s political bureau.
Unlike Haniyeh, who had travelled regionally and delivered speeches throughout the war on Gaza until his assassination, Sinwar had been tight-lipped since October 7, 2023.
International Criminal Court prosecutors have sought an arrest warrant for him along with Haniyeh, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Yaov Gallant over alleged war crimes in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Biography of Yahya sinwar
In a 2021 interview with Vice News, Sinwar said that, while Palestinians do not seek war due to its high cost, they will not “wave the white flag”.
“For long periods, we tried peaceful and popular resistance. We expected that the world, free people and international organisations would stand by our people and stop occupation from committing crimes and massacring our people. Unfortunately, the world stood by and watched,” he said.
Sinwar was likely describing the Great March of Return, during which Palestinians protested every week for months on end at the Gaza border in 2018 and 2019. Those demonstrations, however, were met violent Israeli crackdowns that killed more than 220 people and injured many more.
Asked about Hamas’s tactics, including firing indiscriminate rockets that could harm civilians, Sinwar said Palestinians are fighting with the means at their disposal. He accused Israel of deliberately killing Palestinian civilians en masse, despite having advanced, precise weaponry.
“Does the world expect us to be well-behaved victims while we are being killed, for us to be slaughtered without making a noise?” Sinwar said.
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