The death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday capped one of the most depraved and sinister careers in the history of terrorism.
Sinwar's crimes against both Israelis and Palestinians are massive, and Hamas may be aware that the people of Gaza are unwilling to celebrate him as a martyred hero.
Shinwar is born He entered the Gaza refugee camp in 1962 and joined Hamas shortly after it was established in 1987. His family was forced from the area now known as Ashkelon during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and lived in a refugee camp. I started The former won, the latter decisively.
Shinwar is radicalized These were the words of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, co-founder of Hamas and the organization's “spiritual leader,” when he was in college. Yasin's religious and political ideology It combined the Islamic supremacy of the Muslim Brotherhood with the intense resentment of the Palestinians. As Hamas's manifesto states, “There is no solution to the Palestinian problem other than jihad.”
Sinwar spent much of his career as head of Majid, Hamas's “internal security” unit. ordered the torture and murder of Palestinians who “collaborated” with Israel; He became known as “The Butcher of Khan Yunis”, who killed Palestinians rather than Israelis. In one particularly infamous case, he strangled a suspect with his keffiyeh scarf and buried him alive.
Shinwar admitted After Israeli security forces arrested him in 1988, they tortured and killed 12 people believed to be Palestinian collaborators.
For these killings and the killing of two Israeli soldiers, Sinwar was sentenced to four life sentences in Israeli prisons. While in prison, he learned Hebrew, researched Israeli society, and even wrote an autobiographical novel called . thorns and carnations, But his journey was not one of understanding or compassion.
Sinwar showed no gratitude toward Israel when Israeli doctors saved him from a brain tumor in 2008. In fact, Hamas subsequently kidnapped the nephew of one of the doctors who performed the surgery in Sinwar. The doctor personally implored Mr. Sinwar to release the hostages. His nephew was killed by Hamas the next day.
Shinwar was the only survivor because he had a brain tumor. detected A prison dentist named Yuval Bitton ordered him rushed to the hospital for surgery. Mr Sinwar later thanked Mr Bitton for saving his life, but added: But maybe in another 10 or 20 years you will be weak and I will attack you. ”
Sinwar was released in a famous prisoner swap by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2011, and ended up spending just 22 years of his four life sentences in prison. Mr. Sinwar was among 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. traded A memorial service was held for kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held by Hamas for five years in violation of international law.
Sinwar's younger brother Muhammad was the mastermind behind the operation to capture Sharit. Some of the Israeli civilians kidnapped in the October 7, 2023 attack were reported Hamas reportedly still displays a photo of Shalit on the wall of the hostage dungeon.
Immediately after his release from prison, Mr. Sinwar got married and resumed his activities with Hamas, working for a time in its “political wing” before once again taking charge of purging political opponents and arresting collaborators.
In 2016, Shinwar revealed execution Words from Hamas military commander Mahmoud Rushdi Ishtewi. Istewy is said to have been arrested for “financial, ethical and security lapses”, but it is more likely that he participated in the game of thrones and lost. Istewy was able to obtain a letter written to his family in which he wrote that he was constantly tortured during his three weeks in captivity before being executed without trial.
Ishtewi's death paved the way for Sinwar's rise to power. He was elected Hamas political director in the Gaza Strip in 2017 and was re-elected to the post in 2021.
After the last war between Israel and Hamas ended in 2021, Sinwar said in a televised press conference: Dare The Israelis assassinate him.
“Once you're done here, you'll be walking most of the way home. You'll be done in 10 minutes, then another 10 minutes to get ready to leave, and then you'll walk for 20 or 30 minutes. This is about 1 That's 3,600 seconds. That's enough for Israel to weaponize an aircraft and launch it. Still, I'm not going to bat an eyelid,” he sneered.
About a year before the October 7 atrocity, Shinwar became noticeably belligerent, urging Hamas in speeches to prepare for “war” and warning Israel that it would soon face a devastating “flood.” . Hamas' official name for the October 7 attack was “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.”
Israeli security officials claim that Sinwar planned the October 7 attack with Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas's “military wing.” Deif reportedly killed Despite Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in July, Hamas insists he is still alive and in hiding. The International Criminal Court (ICC) confirm Mr. Deif's status is due to a pending arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity.
US Department of Justice (DOJ) in September not sealed Charges of terrorism, murder, conspiracy and evasion of sanctions against Shinwar.
“The Department of Justice charges Yahya Sinwar with funding, directing, and overseeing a decades-long campaign that killed American citizens and endangered America's national security,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the indictment. “We have indicted him and other Hamas leaders.” announced.
Garland noted that more than 40 Americans were among the victims of the October 7 massacre orchestrated by Sinwar.
Sinwar may be responsible for more Palestinian deaths than anyone in modern times, considering both the murders at his hands and the thousands who died in the war he started. When other Hamas leaders balked at Sinwar's casualties in Gaza, I wrote They were sent a letter explaining that the Palestinian civilians who died were a “necessary sacrifice” and that their deaths would “inject life into the veins of this nation and inspire them to raise the glory and honor of this nation.” .
