Who Is Yahya Sinwar? All You Need To Know About Hamas's October 7 Mastermind

Israel announced on Thursday that it is “checking” whether Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was killed during a military operation in the Gaza Strip.

A brief military statement, which did not provide specific details about the operation, claimed that “three terrorists were eliminated” in the Gaza Strip. Israeli defense agencies said they are “checking the possibility that one of the terrorists was Yahya Sinwar.”

The identities of the terrorists have not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, images claiming to show Sinwar’s body have been widely circulating on social media. However, there has been no official confirmation from Hamas over the news of his death.

Who is Yahya Sinwar, the ‘Butcher of Khan Younis’?

62-year-old Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the October 7 attacks on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, became the chief of Hamas in August after his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in an explosion in Iran in July.

Born in 1962 in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, Sinwar was an early member of Hamas, formed in 1987. He eventually led the group’s security branch, which worked to eliminate informants for Israel.

Israel arrested him in the late 1980s, and he admitted to killing 12 suspected collaborators, earning him the nickname “The Butcher of Khan Younis.” He was sentenced to four life terms for crimes that included the killing of two Israeli soldiers.

While in prison, Sinwar organised strikes to improve working conditions and studied Hebrew and Israeli society. He survived brain cancer in 2008 after being treated by Israeli doctors.

In 2011, Sinwar was among more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of an exchange for an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid.

After returning to Gaza, he quickly rose through the ranks of Hamas leadership, known for his ruthlessness. He is widely believed to have been behind the 2016 killing of another top Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtewi, during an internal power struggle.

Sinwar became head of Hamas in Gaza, effectively taking control of the territory, and worked alongside Haniyeh to align the group with Iran and its regional proxies while building up its military capabilities.

(With inputs from agencies)