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Who is Mohammad Sinwar, nicknamed 'the shadow' by IDF, now killed by Israel

Who is Mohammad Sinwar, nicknamed 'the shadow' by IDF, now killed by Israel

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Muhammad Sinwar, Hamas Gaza chief and brother of slain former chief Yahya Sinwar, had taken over the group after Yahya's death in October 2024.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday (May 28) announced that the Israeli military had killed Hamas Gaza chief Muhammad Sinwar in an air strike on May 13. His confirmation came days after Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Sinwar was "likely killed" in an airstrike on Gaza. Muhammad Sinwar, Hamas Gaza chief and brother of slain former chief Yahya Sinwar, had taken over the group after Yahya's death in October 2024. Yahya Sinwar was killed by the Israeli military in a firefight in the Palestine enclave.

Who is Muhammad Sinwar?

Muhammad Sinwar, nicknamed ‘the shadow’ by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), was born in 1975 in a Khan Younis refugee camp. Sinwar's family fled from Al-Majdal Asqalan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. He joined the military movement of Hamas in 1991 and in 2005, he became the commander of Hamas' Khan Younis brigade.

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However, Muhammad Sinwar came into prominence after the abduction of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006. This led to the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas in which 1027 prisoners were released in exchange for Shalit. The prisoners included Yahya Sinwar, who was serving a life sentence for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in 1989.

Prior to this, Sinwar was arrested by Israel in 1991 for suspected terrorism, serving only less than a year in custody before being released. He was also arrested by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah in the 1990s. The IDF named him ‘the shadow’ because of his presence “behind the scenes.” The IDF has long been trying to eliminate Sinwar and reports state that he survived as many as six assassination attempts by Israel till May 2021. In 2014, Hamas had falsely announced that he was killed.

After the killing of Yahya Sinwar, Israel made Muhammad Sinwar one of the most wanted men in Gaza, placing a $300,000 bounty on him. Hamas escalated its attacks and recruitment efforts under Muhammad Sinwar and all major Gaza operations were handle by him.

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Navashree Nandini

Navashree Nandini is a Senior Sub-Editor at WION News with over six years of experience covering Indian politics, US politics, global conflicts, foreign policy and education, with ...Read More