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"The Butcher of Khan Yunis": What Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was known for
On October 17, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the liquidation of Hamas political director Yahya Sinwar from the Gaza Strip. What is he known for and why has Israeli intelligence been monitoring him for decades — From RBC
Yahya Sinwar, 61, was born on October 29, 1962, in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, which is under Egyptian occupation (Israel). His family was originally from the city of Mashaal (now Ashkelon), but left their homeland because of the war that began after the declaration of Israel in 1948.
Sinwar earned a bachelor's degree in Arabic from the Islamic University of Gaza. During his studies, he became radicalized and became the head of the student branch of the Muslim Brotherhood (a terrorist movement banned in Russia). He was first arrested by Israeli authorities for his Islamist activities in 1982, and again in 1985. During this period, he became close to Ahmed Yassin, who later became the founder and spiritual leader of the radical Hamas movement.
Sinwar was the birthplace of Hamas, which emerged in 1987 during the first Palestinian intifada. He was particularly active in establishing the group's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and eventually led the al-Majid Internal Security Forces (established in 1985 and later integrated into Hamas structures). In this capacity, Sinwar was involved in identifying and eliminating Israeli intelligence informants and violators of Islamic morality, earning him the nickname "The Butcher of Khan Yunis."
In 1988, Sinwar was arrested again by Israeli authorities and sentenced to four life sentences for the murder of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel. In prison, Sinwar quickly gained authority among other prisoners, especially among Hamas members. New Yorker journalist David Remnick wrote that Sinwar studied “the language, psychology, and history of the enemy” while in prison. He “devoured Israeli newspapers and radio broadcasts, as well as books about Zionist theorists, politicians, and intelligence officials,” and learned Hebrew in preparation for his return to armed confrontation with Israel.
Sinwar spent nearly 23 years in prison. In 2011, he was exchanged along with more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured five years earlier. After returning to the Gaza Strip (the territory under Hamas control since 2007), his group’s career took off again. In 2012, he was elected to the Politburo, and in 2017, he became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, replacing Ismail Haniyeh (Hamas’ political director).
Israeli authorities hold Sinwar responsible for the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that left about 1,200 people dead and 251 hostages. Sinwar has been of interest to Israeli intelligence for some time, but the search for him has intensified in the past year.
On August 6, a week after Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran, Sinwar was elected as the new head of Hamas’s politburo. Foreign Minister Israel Katz called the appointment “another compelling reason to quickly remove him and wipe this evil organization off the face of the earth.” Israeli authorities believed Sinwar was hiding in tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip, surrounding himself with hostages like human shields. However, the IDF said there was no sign of hostages in the building where the Hamas leader was allegedly killed.
According to preliminary information, Israeli forces opened fire on three militants during a raid on Rafah and discovered that one of them resembled Sinwar. In a joint statement, the IDF and Shin Bet noted that operations carried out in recent weeks significantly restricted the Hamas leader’s movements, which ultimately contributed to his elimination. Sinwar’s body was identified through DNA testing. Hamas leaders and other members of the group had large amounts of cash and fake IDs.