What you should know about Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader killed in Gaza

Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, was the mastermind of the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.

He rose to the top job in August after former leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in Iran that Israel was blamed for. On Thursday, Israel said troops in Gaza had killed Sinwar. A senior Hamas political official confirmed the death on Friday.

Some things you should know about Sinwar:

From refugee camp to Hamas fighter

Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in the city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. He was an early member of Hamas, which was founded in 1987. He eventually led the group’s security arm, which worked to purge it of spies for Israel.

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

A prison warden during his detention in Israel

Sinwar organized prison strikes to improve working conditions. He also studied Hebrew and Israeli society.

He survived a brain tumor in 2008 after being treated by Israeli doctors.

Sinwar was released from prison in 2011 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of an exchange for an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid.

Rise to power in Gaza with reputation for ruthlessness

When Sinwar returned to Gaza, he quickly rose through Hamas’ leadership ranks and was known for his ruthlessness. He was widely believed to be behind the 2016 assassination of another top Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtewi, in an internal power struggle.

Sinwar became head of Hamas in Gaza, effectively gaining control of the area, and worked with Haniyeh to align the group with Iran and its proxies in the region while expanding the group’s military capabilities.

The October attack on Israel

Sinwar is believed to have planned the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel along with Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ armed wing.

The attack killed about 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and the militants took about 250 people hostage, sparking the war with Hamas. According to local health authorities, which do not distinguish between combatants and civilians, the conflict in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians.

Hamas said it launched the attack in retaliation for Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and to put the Palestinian cause back on the world agenda.

Israel said it killed Deif in an attack in July.