Israel's military intelligence has claimed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has died. According to the Times of Israel, Sinwar has been missing for some time. He has no contact with anyone.
As such, the Israeli military is investigating the possibility that Sinwar was killed in an attack on Gaza. No evidence has yet been found regarding Sinwar's death. However, reports from several major Israeli media houses have speculated on the death of the Hamas leader.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), they attacked a school in Gaza a few days ago. Hamas had a command center here. 22 people were killed in this attack. In such a situation, there is a fear that Sinwar has also died in this air strike.
This photo is from October 10, 2023, when Sinwar was hiding in a tunnel in Gaza.
There is no evidence of Sinwar's death
According to Israeli media Haaretz, Israel recently attacked the tunnels in Gaza where Sinwar was believed to be hiding. However, so far no clues have been found regarding Sinwar's death in the attack.
This is not the first time that Sinwar has suddenly disappeared. Several times before, Sinwar has returned after disappearing for a while with a cease-fire or some other message. On the other hand, Israel's internal security agency, Shin Bet, dismissed speculations about Sinwar's death.
Only Sinwar remains in the top leadership of Hamas
There were three key actors in the October 7 attack on Israel last year. They include political chief Ismail Haniyeh, military chief Mohammed Daif as well as Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar. Sinwar became the new head of the organization after Haniyeh's death in Iran on 31 July.
Meanwhile, Hamas military chief Mohammed Daif was killed in an airstrike on 13 July, confirmed on 1 August. In such a situation, only Sinwar is left in the top leadership of Hamas. Therefore, Israel's entire focus at this point is to find and kill Sinwar.
After emerging from the Gaza camp, Yahya Sinwar became the leader of Hamas
Yahya Sinwar is the leader of Hamas in Gaza. He is one of the most wanted people in Israel. 61-year-old Yahya Sinwar is also known as Abu Ibrahim. He was born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Yahya's parents were from Ashkelon, but when Israel was founded in 1948 and thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their ancestral homes, Yahya's parents also became refugees. Palestinians call it 'Al-Nakba', meaning the Day of Destruction.
According to the BBC, Yahya Sinwar was first arrested by Israel in 1982. He was 19 years old at that time. Yahya was accused of being involved in 'Islamic activities'. He was arrested again in 1985.
Around this time Yahya won the trust of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas. Two years after Hamas was founded in 1987, Yahya founded his notoriously dangerous internal security organization, al-Majd. Sinwar was 25 years old then.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
