Yahya Sinwar

Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar was a Palestinian politician and militant who became Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip in 2017 and its political bureau chief in 2024.

Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar was a Palestinian politician and militant who became Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip in 2017 and its political bureau chief in 2024. He was widely described as a central Hamas figure and as one of the main planners of the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. He was killed in Gaza in October 2024.

Early life and background

Yahya Sinwar was born on 29 October 1962 in the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Sources describe him as a Palestinian who later became involved in Hamas’s early development.

Hamas leadership

Sinwar became the de facto leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in February 2017. He succeeded Ismail Haniyeh as head of Hamas’s political bureau in August 2024. These positions made him one of the movement's most prominent figures.

Role in the Israel-Hamas war

Sinwar was widely identified by Israeli and international sources as a leading planner of the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. That attack triggered the Gaza war and became central to his public profile. The U.S. State Department had designated him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2015.

Death

Sinwar was killed in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on 16 October 2024. Multiple outlets reported that his body was identified using fingerprints and dental records. Hamas later confirmed his death.