Yahya Sinwar

Also known as Yahia Sinwar, Sinwar Yahya, Yahyā as-Sinwār, Jihia al-Sinwar

Palestinian politician and Hamas leader (1962–2024)

AI overview

Yahya Sinwar was a Palestinian politician and senior leader of Hamas who lived from 1962 until his death in 2024. He is significant because he held major influence over Hamas's political and military operations during a period of intense Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including serving as head of Hamas's Gaza operations.

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Gender: male
Citizenship: Palestine
Place of birth: Khan Yunis Camp
Place of death: Tel al-Sultan refugee camp
Occupation: politician
Educated at: Islamic University of Gaza
Political party: Hamas
Languages spoken: Hebrew
Native language: Arabic
Religion: Islam
Conflict: Gaza war
Military branch: Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
Image: Yahya Sinwar, 2012 - 2 (cropped).jpg
Number of children: 3
Residence: Gaza Strip
Significant event: Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange

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P10632: Yahya Sinwar
name in native language: يحيى إبراهيم حسن السنوار
Commons category: Yahya al-Sinwar
date of birth: 1962-10-29
date of death: 2024-10-16
allegiance: Hamas
writing language: Arabic
cause of death: gunshot wound

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Encyclopedic overview

Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar (Arabic: يحيى إبراهيم حسن السنوار, romanized: Yaḥyá Ibrāhīm Ḥasan as-Sinwār; 29 October 1962 – 16 October 2024) was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as fourth chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from August 2024, and as the second leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from February 2017 until he was killed in a clash with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in October 2024. He succeeded Ismail Haniyeh in both roles.

Sinwar was born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in Egyptian-occupied Gaza in 1962 to a family who had been expelled or fled from Majdal 'Asqalan during the 1948 Palestine War. He finished his studies at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he received a bachelor's degree in Arabic studies. In 1989, Sinwar was sentenced to four life sentences in Israel for orchestrating the abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians he considered to be collaborators. He spent 22 years in prison until his release among 1,026 others in a 2011 prisoner exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. During his time in prison, Sinwar continued to coordinate the military activities of Hamas. Sinwar was one of the co-founders of the security apparatus of Hamas.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Yahya Sinwar” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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