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Mohammed Sinwar

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Mohammed Sinwar
محمد السنوار
Leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip
In office
16 October 2024[1] – 13 May 2025
Prime MinisterIssam al-Da'alis[a]
Preceded byYahya Sinwar
Succeeded byIzz al-Din al-Haddad (suspected)
Commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades
In office
13 July 2024 – 13 May 2025
Preceded byMohammed Deif
Succeeded byIzz al-Din al-Haddad (suspected)
Personal details
Born
Mohammed Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar

(1975-09-16)16 September 1975
Khan Yunis refugee camp, Gaza Strip
Died13 May 2025(2025-05-13) (aged 49)
Gaza European Hospital, Al-Fukhari, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip
Manner of deathAssassination by airstrike
RelativesYahya Sinwar (brother)
Nicknames
Military service
Allegiance Hamas
Branch al-Qassam Brigades
Service years1991–2025
RankCommander
Conflicts

Mohammed Ibrahim Hassan al-Sinwar (Arabic: محمد إبراهيم حسن السنوار; 16 September 1975 – 13 May 2025) was a Palestinian politician and militant who became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and of its armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, following the killing of his brother Yahya Sinwar in October 2024. He held both positions until he himself was killed by the Israel Defense Forces in May 2025.

Born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, Sinwar spent several years in Israeli and Palestinian Authority jails in the 1990s and became the leader of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade in 2005. Israel made several attempts to assassinate him, the last of which killed him in 2025.[4][5][6]

Early life

Mohammed Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar was born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp on 16 September 1975. Sinwar's family fled from Al-Majdal Asqalan (Ashkelon) during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.[4]

Military career

Sinwar joined Hamas in 1991,[7] becoming a member of its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades. He was ideologically influenced by Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.[8] His rank in the group rose over time, and he eventually became one of its joint chief of staffs, where he became close to Hamas commanders such as Mohammed Deif and Sa'ad al-Arabid—the latter was assassinated in 2003.[9][10] He also became close to deputy Hamas commander Marwan Issa.[11]

Sinwar partook in the First Intifada[12] and was arrested by Israel in 1991 for suspected terrorism, serving only nine months in the Ktzi'ot Prison before being released. In 1992, he was involved in the kidnapping and killing of Israeli soldier Alon Karavani, an operation led by Deif.[10] He was arrested by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah later in the 1990s, spending three years in jail before escaping in 2000.[13][14]

During the Second Intifada, Sinwar planned attacks against Israeli targets and oversaw rocket attacks.[15] In 2005, he became the commander of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade[16]—a role he held until 2016, according to the IDF.[17] He operated alongside senior commanders such as Hassan Salameh, and accumulated experience and influence because he was able to stay under the radar.[10] Little was known about him by Israel's security services, and Arab officials said that he mostly operated "behind the scenes", giving him the nickname "Shadow".[3]

Sinwar reportedly established ties with criminal clans, such as the Doghmush clan, facilitating the 2006 abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.[18] He was a part of the cell that conducted the abduction, being a key architect of the raid.[19][20] He also played a key role in concealing Shalit, allegedly briefly holding the soldier captive himself.[21][22] Shalit was exchanged in 2011 for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including Sinwar’s brother, Yahya Sinwar, with Mohammed insisting upon his release.[23][24]

Sinwar reportedly convinced the al-Qaeda-aligned Ansar Bait al-Maqdis to join the Islamic State, which established the group's Sinai Province. Hamas provided the group with weapons and training in exchange for the group ensuring that arms shipments reached Gaza. He further gained influence after Raed al Atar and Mahmoud Abu Shamaleh, who were candidates to replace Deif, were killed during the 2014 Gaza war.[10]

In a 2022 interview with Al Jazeera, Sinwar said that the majority of Gaza's populace would not recognize him because he was so unknown. He had skipped his father's funeral to maintain secrecy. Also in the interview, speaking about past Israeli assassination attempts on him and the conflict with Israel, he stated, "For us, shooting rockets at Tel Aviv is easier than drinking water."[22]

Mohammed Sinwar was believed by Israeli intelligence to have been one of the masterminds of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Israel made him one of the most wanted men in its military operation in Gaza, placing a US$300,000 bounty on information as to his whereabouts.[25] He was reportedly a close confidant of his brother Yahya Sinwar during the war.[26] Israeli security officials said that cruelty was part of Sinwar's nature, and that he executed collaborators with Israel with his own hands.[27]

Shadow Unit

Around three months after the abduction of Gilad Shalit in 2006, Sinwar oversaw the establishment of Hamas's "Shadow Unit" with approval from Deif. It was an elite, covert force that guarded valuable captives, including Shalit. Sinwar personally selected militants from Khan Yunis to command the unit, including field commanders Rahman al-Mubasher, Khaled Abu Bakra, and Mohammed Dawoud, who were all killed by Israel in 2013 and 2021. The unit was kept secret until Hamas released footage of Shalit in captivity in 2016.[21][18]

Sinwar continued to recruit members to the unit and enhance its capabilities over time, with its purpose becoming more apparent after the taking of hostages during the October 7 attacks.[21]

Leadership of Hamas

Sinwar became the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades after Deif was assassinated in July 2024. Later that year, he became the group's de facto overall leader in Gaza after his older brother, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israeli soldiers in October.[28] Although Hamas officials in Doha established a temporary collective leadership committee, militants in Gaza decided to function independently under Sinwar.[1]

Israeli officials viewed him as extreme as Yahya, yet more militarily experienced. Israeli and Arab officials characterized him as a roadblock in ceasefire negotiations, with Daniel Shapiro, the former United States ambassador to Israel, stating that, "There is little chance the war can end before he dies," and that, "His removal could open the door for the release of all hostages and beginning to move toward a post-war future for Gaza without Hamas."[29][23] Sinwar was known for opposing compromises with Israel, and was against any agreement where Hamas would have to dismantle and disarm.[22]

Strategy

Sinwar was a central figure in Hamas's recruitment efforts during the Gaza war. Although thousands of militants were killed by Israel, the destruction made encouraged many Palestinians to join the group. His recruitment campaign and continued war effort posed a challenge to Israel, as it enabled the group to rebuild quicker than the IDF could destroy it, according to former IDF brigadier general Amir Avivi.[1] Sinwar also recruited members into Hamas's "Arrow" unit, which was responsible for upholding social order in Gaza and cracking down on humanitarian aid looting.[18]

Unexperienced recruits engaged in hit-and-run attacks against Israeli forces under Sinwar, fighting in small cells and using guns and anti-tank missiles that do not require any advanced skills. The recruits were promised food and aid for themselves and their families. Hamas fighters also utilized unexploded munitions dropped by Israel, particularly in northern Gaza.[1][30]

Failed assassination attempts

By May 2021, Sinwar had been subject to at least six assassination attempts by Israel within a span of 20 years.[29][20]

During the Second Intifada, Sinwar was targeted in September 2000. He was later targeted in 2003, when an improvised explosive device was detonated in the wall of his house, although he was unharmed.[21][29]

In 2006, an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle believed to be carrying Sinwar, however he was not inside.[21]

In 2008, Sinwar reportedly used pre-recorded radio transmissions to trick the IDF into thinking that he was speaking live from the signal location, leading the IDF to bomb the area, although Sinwar was never there.[21]

Hamas announced that Sinwar had died in during the 2014 Gaza War and released an image purporting to show his body lying in a blood-stained bed. This was done to deter further assassination attempts against him.[31] Israel believed that he had died until it discovered evidence of his survival nine years later.[32] Sinwar had presumably been hiding in the tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip.[33][34]

In 2019, Sinwar and other Hamas commanders, including Rafa Salama, were reportedly targeted in a plot where Israeli commandos would poison and kidnap them from a beach in Khan Yunis. The Al-Qassam Brigades rejected the report as "baseless".[21]

During the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, Sinwar and Salama were lightly wounded following an Israeli airstrike on a tunnel that they were in.[35] On 16 May that year, Israel bombed Sinwar's home, as well as his brother's, Yahya Sinwar, in Khan Yunis, but both were apparently unoccupied.[36]

Assassination

Main article: 2025 Gaza European Hospital strikes

On 13 May 2025, the IDF and Shin Bet said that Sinwar had been targeted in an Israeli airstrike on a bunker under the Gaza European Hospital in Khan Yunis. The strike killed 26 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, but Sinwar's fate was unclear.[37][38][39] According to the Saudi channel Al-Hadath, the bodies of Sinwar and Muhammad Shabana were recovered from the tunnel. Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said that "according to all the indications Muhammad Sinwar was eliminated."[40] Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that Hamas members in the Gaza Strip had told him that Sinwar was still alive.[41] On 28 May 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Sinwar had been killed.[42] On 31 May 2025, the IDF and Shin Bet confirmed that Sinwar had been killed.[43][44]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ After Issam al-Da'alis was killed on 18 March 2025 during the Gaza war, a 15-member Community Support Committee was established to assume government affairs.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Said, Summer; Peled, Anat; Jones, Rory (13 January 2025). "Hamas Has Another Sinwar. And He's Rebuilding". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 1 February 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  2. ^ "يوم دام جديد في غزة.. ماذا قالت حماس عن لجنة الإسناد المجتمعي؟". alaraby. 24 March 2025.
  3. ^ a b Keller-Lynn, Carrie (13 May 2025). "Israel Targeted Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar in Gaza Airstrike". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Muhammad Al-Sanwar, member of the Qassam Brigades' Staff and one of the architects of the 'Shalit deal'". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 18 October 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Israel PM says Hamas's Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been killed". www.bbc.com. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  6. ^ Magdy, Samy; Mroue, Bassem (28 May 2025). "Mohammed Sinwar, head of Hamas' armed wing, has been killed, Netanyahu says". AP News. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Muhammad Al-Sanwar, member of the Qassam Brigades' Staff and one of the architects of the 'Shalit deal'". Al Jazeera (in Arabic). 18 October 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  8. ^ Halabi, Einav (17 October 2024). "Mohammed Sinwar: The ruthless brother who 'came back from the dead' – Hamas' heir apparent?". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Mohammed Sinwar, head of Hamas' armed wing, has been killed, Netanyahu says". Associated Press. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d "Who is Mohammed Sinwar? Hamas's covert leader in the fight against Israel - explainer". The Jerusalem Post. 7 September 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  11. ^ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal; Al-Mughrabi, Nidal (28 May 2025). "Mohammad Sinwar: Hamas chief in Gaza declared eliminated by Israel". Reuters. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Israel says it has killed Hamas leader. Who is Mohammed Sinwar?". The Hill. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  13. ^ Vinall, Frances; Balousha, Hazem; Bisset, Victoria; Soroka, Lior (31 May 2025). "Who is Mohammed Sinwar, the Hamas military figure Israel says it killed?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  14. ^ Livni, Ephrat (14 May 2025). "What to Know About Mohammad Sinwar, the Hamas Leader Targeted by Israel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Body of Gaza Hamas Leader Mohammed Sinwar Reportedly Found in Khan Yunis Tunnel". Haaretz. 18 May 2025.
  16. ^ "Israel PM says Hamas's Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been killed". BBC News. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  17. ^ Liebermann, Oren (13 May 2025). "Israel targets Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in hospital strike in Gaza, sources say". CNN. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  18. ^ a b c "Hamas further weakened after Israel kills presumed leader Mohammed Sinwar". Le Monde. 1 June 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  19. ^ "Israel targeted Muhammad Sinwar in rare moment when he had no hostages around him -- report". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  20. ^ a b Vinall, Frances; Balousha, Hazem; Bisset, Victoria; Soroka, Lior (31 May 2025). "Who is Mohammed Sinwar, the Hamas military figure Israel says it killed?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g "Elusive Assassination Target, 'Shadow Unit' Founder: Who Is Mohammed al-Sinwar?". Asharq al-Awsat. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  22. ^ a b c Livni, Ephrat (14 May 2025). "What to Know About Mohammad Sinwar, the Hamas Leader Targeted by Israel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  23. ^ a b Liebermann, Oren (13 May 2025). "Israel targets Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in hospital strike in Gaza, sources say". CNN. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Report: Sinwar's brother also met with hostages in Gaza". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  25. ^ Marks Eglash, Ruth (17 December 2023). "Israel's most wanted: 'Butcher of Khan Younis,' other Hamas terrorists now in IDF's sights". Fox News. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  26. ^ Morris, Loveday; Balousha, Hazem (11 December 2023). "Who is Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar? From enforcer to Oct. 7 mastermind". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  27. ^ Bohbot, Amir (19 May 2025). "IDF discovered Mohammed Sinwar's secret meeting after Edan Alexander's release". Jpost.
  28. ^ "Israel may have killed Muhammad Sinwar, but he was likely never in the driver's seat". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  29. ^ a b c "'Mohammed Sinwar killed in IDF strike': Israel Defence Minister Israel Katz". The Australian. 18 May 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  30. ^ Philp, Catherine (17 January 2025). "In Gaza, Hamas commanders are rebuilding their shattered forces". The Times. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  31. ^ "Mohammed Sinwar, defiant Hamas leader who took over the terror group after the death of brother Yahya". The Telegraph. 29 May 2025. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  32. ^ "Who is Mohammad Sinwar and could he become the next Hamas leader?". ABC News. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  33. ^ Shoaib, Ali (12 November 2023). "A Hamas leader pronounced dead in 2014 has been living in underground tunnels and masterminded the October 7 attacks, Israeli intel says". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  34. ^ Seidel, Jamie (13 November 2023). "'Dead' man Mohammed Sinwar planned October 7 Israel attacks". News Corp Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  35. ^ "IDF Confirms Killing of Hamas Gaza Chief Mohammed Sinwar and Two Other Hamas Commanders in Strike Earlier This Month". Haaretz. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  36. ^ Gross, Judah Ari. "Heavy rocket fire hits center, south; Hamas leader's home targeted in IAF strike". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
  37. ^ "Israel's latest attacks on Gaza hospitals killed at least 28 people". Al Jazeera. 13 May 2025.
  38. ^ Ravid, Barak (13 May 2025). "Israel targets top Hamas commander in strike on hospital bunker". Axios. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  39. ^ "IDF and Shin Bet carry out strike in southern Gaza, target Hamas leader Mohamad Sinwar, brother of Yahya Sinwar". Haaretz. 13 May 2025.
  40. ^ Yohanan, Nurit; ToI Staff; Fabian, Emanuel (18 May 2025). "Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar's body said found in Gaza tunnel hit by IDF last week". The Times of Israel.
  41. ^ "Senior Hamas official says Mohammed Sinwar still alive". Tehran Times. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  42. ^ "Netanyahu says Hamas Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar has been eliminated". Reuters. 28 May 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  43. ^ Zitun, Yoav (31 May 2025). "IDF confirms killing of top Hamas commander Mohammed Sinwar in Khan Younis strike". Ynetnews. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
  44. ^ "Israeli military says it killed Hamas military leader Mohammed Sinwar on May 13". Reuters. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
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