Who is Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar? Terror chief known as ‘The Butcher’ who orchestrated the October 7 atrocities and is feared by his terror group for being utterly ruthless

Yayha Sinwar, better known as The Butcher, is feared by his ruthless terror group for being utterly ruthless after masterminding the deadly October 7 massacre.

Israel says it is now investigating the possibility that the Hamas leader was killed in a military operation – with official confirmation expected in the coming hours.

His death, which has not yet been confirmed, would mark a key moment in Israel’s years-long offensive against the militant group and could complicate efforts to rescue dozens of hostages held in Gaza.

Sinwar became head of Hamas after the killing of its previous leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Iran in July, which was widely blamed on Israel.

From refugee camp to Hamas militant

Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in the Gaza city of Khan Younis.

He was one of the first members of Hamas, which was founded in 1987.

He eventually headed the group’s security wing, which was involved in purging informants for Israel.

Israel arrested him in the late 1980s and he admitted to killing twelve suspected collaborators, a role that has earned him the nickname “The Butcher of Khan Younis.”

Israel accuses Sinwar (pictured) of masterminding unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that sparked war

The black and white footage (one pictured above), reportedly taken on October 10, shows a man believed to be Sinwar being led through a tunnel along with a woman and three children. These are reportedly his first since the war between Israel and Hamas. broke out

After his release from prison in 1985, Sinwar co-founded the Munazzamat al Jihad w’al-Dawa (Majd) with Rawhi Mushtaha, an organization aimed at exterminating Palestinians who collaborated with the Israeli government.

According to the Palestinian Information Center, this had become Hamas’s “police” in 1987.

He was sentenced to four life sentences for crimes including the murder of two Israeli soldiers.

Sinwar reportedly made several attempts to escape, including one where he tried to dig a hole in the floor of his cell in the hope he could tunnel out.

A prison leader

Sinwar organized strikes in the prison to improve working conditions.

He also studied Hebrew and Israeli society during his two decades behind bars.

During his time in prison, Sinwar told an Italian journalist that prison is a melting pot. “Prison builds you,” he said.

He added that it gave him time to think about the price he was willing to pay for what he believed in.

He survived brain cancer in 2008 after being treated by Israeli doctors.

Sinwar was one of more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2011 as part of a trade for an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid.

Ascend to Gaza power

When Sinwar returned to Gaza, he quickly rose through the Hamas leadership ranks with a reputation for ruthlessness.

He is widely believed to have been behind the 2016 killing of another top Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtewi, in an internal power struggle.

In July, the leader of Hamas’s political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, was blown up when he visited Tehran to attend the inauguration of the Iranian president. Pictured with Sinwar in 2019

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has remained elusive throughout the years of war (pictured in 2022)

Sinwar became head of Hamas in Gaza, effectively gaining control of the area, and worked with Haniyeh to align the group with Iran and its allies in the region, while also building up the group’s military capabilities .

The October attack on Israel

Sinwar, along with Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’s armed wing, is believed to have engineered the surprise October 7 attack on Israel.

The attack killed about 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and sparked a war that health authorities there say has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza.

Hamas said it launched the attack in retaliation for Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and to put the Palestinian cause back on the world agenda.

Israel said it killed Deif in an attack in July, while Hamas says he is still alive.

A pro-Palestinian protester holds a photo of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a march ahead of the anniversary of the October 7 attack near the White House in Washington

The last known images of Sinwar show a hunched man walking through a tunnel under Gaza, accompanied by his wife and children.

The video was retrieved by Israeli soldiers during an attack on Gaza earlier this year, but is believed to date from the days immediately following the October 7 attack.

Where would this leave Hamas?

Sinwar has been in hiding since the attack and ceasefire negotiators have said it could take several days for messages to be sent and received from him.

Even before he became Hamas’ top leader, Sinwar was believed to have the final say on a deal to release hostages held by the militant group.

There are about 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

It is unclear who would replace Sinwar, and what that could mean for ceasefire efforts, which stalled in August after months of negotiations between the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

Hamas has hundreds of thousands of supporters in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Palestinian refugee camps across the region.

Sinwar was one of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2011 as part of a trade for an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid.

Some of the top leaders are based in Qatar, which has served as a mediator between Israel and the militant group.

Israel has arrested and killed several top Hamas leaders and militant commanders over the years, and the militant group quickly replaced them.

But it has never waged a prolonged war against Israel, which says it has killed dozens of high-ranking militants and more than 17,000 fighters, although it has provided no evidence for the latter figure.