When A Murderer Becomes A Leader: Who is Yahya Sinwar?

In 2018, the Head of the Hamas terrorist organization, Yahya Sinwar, declared to the world: “We will take down the border [with Israel] and we will tear their hearts from their bodies."

Last Saturday, October 7th, Sinwar’s declaration became Israel’s reality.

Sinwar is Hamas’ leader in Gaza, the second in command of the entire Hamas, and one of the founders of the Hamas’ military wing. Sinwar himself was the mastermind behind Hamas’ brutal massacres in the towns and communities of southern Israel and the Nova Music Festival on October 7th.

Hamas is not only a terrorist organization but also, unfortunately, the elected sovereign in Gaza. As its leader, Sinwar diverts all of Gaza’s resources to finance building terrorist infrastructure such as underground attack tunnels, rocket launchers, and weapons, leaving the majority of Gazan civilians to live in poverty while Hamas terrorist leaders like Sinwar himself are able to live luxurious lives. Leaders like Sinwar also use Gaza’s civilian population as human shields by positioning their terrorist infrastructure inside hospitals, kindergartens, humanitarian centers and more.

Sinwar himself was born in Gaza, in Khan Yunis, so why would he build and support such a horrific system that oppresses his own people?

In addition to helping found Hamas’ military wing, Sinwar helped found an organization that identified Palestinians who worked with Israel to thwart terrorist activity and personally planned the abduction and murder of two Israeli soldiers and the murder of four Palestinians who were suspected of helping Israel thwart terrorist activity. He was captured and sentenced to five consecutive life sentences in an Israeli prison.

Sinwar became a prominent leader in prison. He became known for abusing and using harsh violence and cruel torture methods against those opposing him and those suspected of aiding Israel. He became known as “The Butcher from Khan Yunis”. 

In 2006, after lengthy negotiations, Sinwar was released as part of a deal made to retrieve an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Hamas and held in Gaza for years. After his release, Sinwar became a prominent Hamas figure in Gaza and was officially recognized as a terrorist by the U.S. government in 2015. 

He was elected to replace Ismail Haniya as Hamas’ leader and was at the forefront of the Hamas-instigated riots along the Gaza security fence, in which thousands of Palestinians attempted to break the fence in order to harm Israeli civilians. 

Due to Sinwar’s key role in the massacring and brutalization of innocent children, women and men, the IDF Chief of the General Staff has recently stated: “This heinous attack was orchestrated by Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. And so he, and the entire system underneath him, are dead men. We will target them, break them, and dismantle their system.”