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Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wields enormous power while remaining largely hidden in the tunnels beneath Gaza and has been considered one of the extremist group’s most influential leaders.
The Israeli military announced Thursday that he had been killed in Gaza, raising hopes for an end to the conflict.
Mr. Sinwar, long considered the architect of Hamas’ military strategy in Gaza, was also elected to head the group’s political office in August, strengthening his power. He was elevated to the post after the assassination of the group’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.
Formation period of Shinwar
Mr. Shinwar was born in Gaza in 1962 to a family that had fled their homeland along with hundreds of thousands of other Palestinian Arabs who were displaced or forced to flee during the war over the creation of Israel. This expulsion deeply influenced his decision to join Hamas in the 1980s.
Sinwar was recruited by Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and appointed head of the internal security force known as al-Majid. His job was to find and punish suspects who had violated Islamic moral law or cooperated with the Israeli occupiers, a position that ultimately got him into trouble with Israeli authorities. .
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