In Wednesday, Hamas' highest political leader Ismail Haniya was killed in Iran's capital Tehran. The day after, it was confirmed that Mohammad Dayf, the extremist group's military leader, was killed in an Israeli attack in Khan Yunis in July. Earlier this year, Salah al-Aruri, the founder of Hamas' armed branch al-Qassam brigades, and Marwan Issa, the forces' second-highest leader, were also killed.
In just a few months, four of Hamas' highest leaders have thus been eliminated by Israel. In addition, there have been several deadly attacks against high-ranking commanders within the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
However, Hamas' perhaps most important leader figure has still managed to evade the Israeli forces: Yahya Sinwar.
From an Israeli perspective, one would rather have seen Sinwar's head on a platter (rather than Haniya's), researcher Anders Ekholm at the Defense University told TT last week.
De facto leader
The 62-year-old Sinwar is the terrorist group's highest leader in Gaza, and is sometimes pointed out as the one who de facto controls the movement. Together with Mohammad Dayf, he is considered the mastermind behind the October 7 attack, which killed around 1,200 Israelis and led to Israel declaring war on Hamas.
Sinwar is believed to be hiding somewhere in Gaza's underground tunnel network. Israeli hostages who have been released claim to have seen him there. But it's been several months since then.
Sinwar is often described as an extremely hard-line leader and is also described by his own people, within militant Palestinian circles, as bloodthirsty and extreme. He has spent a total of 23 years in Israeli prison, but was released in a prisoner exchange in 2011 when Israel got back the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
"Crazy fanatic"
A high-ranking source within al-Fatah, the secular Palestinian party that governs on the West Bank, believes that Israel's biggest mistake was to release Sinwar from prison.
As long as he breathes, he rules, and he is a crazy fanatic, the source has told the newspaper Haaretz.
He further states that Sinwar was radicalized in Israeli prison to the extent that he genuinely believes he is "the Prophet Muhammad's assistant".
Very few people know where Yahya Sinwar is. According to sources within the Islamist movement who spoke to the newspaper Asharq al-Awsat a month ago, only two or three people know where he is hiding.
Born in 1962. Grew up in the Gaza city of Khan Yunis, where his parents fled from Ashkelon in present-day Israel when the Jewish state was established in 1948.
Was arrested by Israel for the first time when he was just 19 years old. Later started Hamas' security group al-Majd in the 1980s, which was to hunt down "traitors" of various kinds. Has since boasted about killing many of them himself, and was subsequently sentenced by Israel to multiple life sentences for murder.
Was released after 23 years in the large prisoner exchange in 2011, when Israel got back the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Was elected in an internal Hamas vote in 2017 as Gaza's highest leader. Is suspected of having planned the major terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, together with military chief Mohammad Dayf.
Sources: Haaretz, BBC
