Death of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar

On Oct. 17, 2024, US intelligence received news that the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, was dead. This event could be a sign of movement toward the end of the decades-long conflict. The death of Sinwar marks the end of the United States and the Israeli Defense Fund’s (IDF) year-long efforts to kill him. 

How it Happened

While Sinwar’s death was the main goal of the US and IDF for the past year, his actual assassination came as a surprise to the IDF soldiers who committed it. Sinwar had been in hiding since Oct. 7, 2023 after the major attack by Hamas on Israel that day, which ignited the war on the Gaza Strip between Palestine and Israel. Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel left 1,200 dead and 251 Israelis taken hostage — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that day that Israel and Hamas were at war. 

Sinwar was able to survive in the underground tunnels beneath Gaza for over a year, making the fateful decision to come up for air on Oct. 17, 2024. It was then that IDF soldiers noticed suspicious movement in a building, then killed Sinwar who they identified later. 

What is Hamas?

The Israel-Palestine conflict has lasted for several decades and is based on the Jewish people’s desire for their ancestral home, Jerusalem, which is in disputed territory. The Palestine territory was originally populated by both Arabs and Jews. The origins of the tension between the groups date back to World War 1.

The United States is allied with Israel but only began recognizing Jerusalem as its capital in 2017.

Hamas is a byproduct of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian arm and came into popularity after the Palestinian uprising of 1987. It is a political party, the unofficial governing body of the Gaza Strip as of 2007 and one of the strongest militant groups in the Palestinian territories. Although Hamas comes from Palestine, not all Palestinians are part of Hamas.

Sinwar’s Importance in Hamas History

Sinwar, born in the Khan Younis refugee camp of the southern Gaza Strip, was arrested multiple times in early adulthood in Israel for “Islamic activities.” It was in prison in 1985, with Sinwar being only 23 years old, that the founder of Hamas Sheikh Ahmed Yassin became confident in his abilities. Sinwar and Yassin were very close during the establishment of Hamas, with Sinwar developing Hamas’ internal security operations at only 25 years old in 1989.

As a result of murdering several Palestinians, Sinwar was held in Israeli prison from 1988 to 2011. He was only released from his life sentence and solitary confinement because of a deal between Israel and Hamas; Israel would release over 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Hamas to release Gilad Shalit (an IDF soldier).

Sinwar was feared by many, but became a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau in the Gaza Strip in 2013, just two years after his release. He became the head of the bureau in 2017. Just two years before this induction, Sinwar was declared “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the US State Department. 

The attacks by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, masterminded by Sinwar, mark the apex of his leadership in the war. With his short tenure as Commander of Hamas that began in August of 2024, Hamas is left in a lull of having a figurehead for their fight.

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