Age, Biography, and Wiki
- Full Name: Yahya Sinwar
- Date of Birth: October 29, 1962
- Date of Death: October 17, 2024
- Place of Birth: Khan Yunis Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip
- Nationality: Palestinian
- Affiliation: Hamas
Yahya Sinwar was the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and played a central role in shaping the group's strategy and operations. He rose through the ranks after joining Hamas in the late 1980s, survived multiple assassination attempts, and became a key figure in the organization’s leadership. Sinwar was known for his tactical acumen and was considered the "spine" of Hamas prior to his elimination by Israeli forces in 2024.
| Occupation | Politician |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 29 October 1962 |
| Age | 62 Years |
| Birth Place | Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip |
| Horoscope | Scorpio |
| Country | Palestine |
| Date of death | 16 October, 2024 |
| Died Place | Tel al-Sultan, Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Publicly available information regarding Yahya Sinwar’s height, weight, or body measurements is scarce and not widely reported in mainstream media.
In 2004, Sinwar, displaying symptoms like standing for prayer then falling and drifting in and out of consciousness, complained of neck pain. A prison dentist, Yuval Bitton, suspected a brain issue, possibly a stroke or abscess, urging urgent hospitalization. At Soroka Medical Center, Israeli surgeons removed a brain tumor that would have been fatal. Bitton emphasized that without surgery, the tumor would have burst. He recounts that a few days later, he visited Sinwar in the hospital with a prison officer. Sinwar asked the Muslim officer guarding him to thank the dentist and to explain to him the significance of his life-saving surgery in Islam and how he felt indebted to him for saving his life. Sinwar rarely interacted with Israeli prison authorities, but he began regular meetings with the dentist. Their discussions, unlike the dentist's usual chats with inmates, solely concerned Hamas ideology. Sinwar, who knew the Qu'ran by heart, articulated Hamas' beliefs, emphasizing its religious stance on the land. He dismissed the possibility of a two-state solution, asserting the land belonged to Muslims.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Yahya Sinwar was married at the time of his death. His wife gained international attention after IDF videos showed her carrying an alleged Hermes Birkin bag valued at $32,000, sparking controversy about the lifestyle of top Hamas leaders. Details about his dating history or other relationships are not publicly available.
Sinwar was the political representative of the Qassam Brigades when the Brigades' Zeitoun Battalion commander Mahmoud Ishtiwi was accused of embezzlement and other "moral violations". Hamas believed that fear of having these violations revealed led to him giving Israel information that ultimately contributed to the deaths of Mohammed Deif's wife Widad Asfura and their two children when their home was bombed by Israel in August 2014. Ishtiwi was reportedly whipped, suspended from a ceiling for hours across multiple days, and ultimately killed by being shot with three bullets to the chest.
By February 2024 the IDF believed that Sinwar had moved to Rafah from Khan Younis. According to the IDF, Sinwar was constantly on the move and thus was unable to personally command Hamas forces. On 13 February the IDF released CCTV footage dated 10 October showing Sinwar and his wife and children as well as his brother Ibrahim in a Hamas tunnel complex in Khan Younis. The IDF stated that they were collecting intelligence and interrogating Hamas commanders and their relatives to find Sinwar.
On 21 November 2011, Sinwar married Samar Muhammad Abu Zamar. The couple had three children. Sinwar's wife received a master's degree in theology from the Islamic University of Gaza.
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| Husband | Samar Muhammad Abu Zamar (m. 2011) |
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Net Worth and Salary
- Estimated Net Worth (2025): $3 billion (according to several media reports prior to his death in October 2024).
- Sources of Wealth: Despite the poverty in Gaza, Sinwar and other Hamas leaders reportedly amassed vast personal fortunes through undisclosed business activities, investments, and control over financial networks.
- Salary: Official salary figures are not disclosed. His wealth is attributed more to leadership within Hamas and control over various financial streams rather than conventional salaries.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Political and Military Career:
- Sinwar became the leader of Hamas in Gaza, directing both political and military operations.
- He was instrumental in planning major attacks, including the October 7, 2023, assault on Israel.
- Business and Investments:
- Sinwar’s financial activities were shrouded in secrecy, but he is believed to have controlled significant resources within Hamas, including investments and access to international funding channels.
- The organization’s wealth is reportedly derived from charities, donations, and various business interests abroad.
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- Reports mention conspicuous displays of wealth among family members, such as expensive designer bags and large amounts of cash found on Sinwar’s person at death.
On 16 May 2018, in an unexpected announcement on Al Jazeera, Sinwar stated that Hamas would pursue "peaceful, popular resistance" to the Israeli occupation, opening the possibility that Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organisation by many countries, may play a role in negotiations with Israel. A week earlier he had encouraged Gazans to breach the Israeli siege and endorsed the Great March of Return, saying "We would rather die as martyrs than die out of oppression and humiliation," and adding, "We are ready to die, and tens of thousands will die with us."
Following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh on 31 July 2024, Hamas named Yahya Sinwar as the new "overall leader" of the movement, as well as the new chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau. The announcement came after the Shura Council, the body that elects Hamas's politburo, voted unanimously to choose Sinwar as the new leader, in what was described by a Hamas official as a "message of defiance to Israel". He held this position for over 2 months until his own death on October 16, 2024.
Social Network
Yahya Sinwar did not maintain a public social media presence due to security concerns and the clandestine nature of his activities. No verified Instagram, Twitter (X), or Facebook accounts are associated with him. However, media coverage and viral videos featuring him and his family have drawn significant attention online.
When asked about this nickname in The New Yorker's August 2024 profile on Sinwar, Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's leadership, said: "I think this is nonsense. That is the first time I have ever heard this." He and other Hamas leaders and supporters added that "Israelis require a great villain" and made one out of Sinwar for this reason. Academic expert on Hamas Khaled Hroub said Sinwar is "widely respected as a great organizer", and that claims of his alleged ruthlessness had not been proved. "Before October 7th, I hadn't heard all these terrible stories", Hroub said, adding: "I think some of these stories came about to complete this image of Sinwar the villain. He is decisive, that is true, and maybe people started to extrapolate from that and spice it up."
In a search of Sinwar's cell, guards confiscated a handwritten novel he completed at the end of 2004. The book, titled The Thorn and the Carnation, mirrored his life and the Palestinian resistance. The story revolves around Ahmed, a devout Gazan boy, navigating life under Israeli occupation during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. At least one copy was smuggled out, and a typed PDF was found in an online library by The New York Times. A different translation of the book title Al-Shawk wa’l Qurunful by a source well-versed in Arabic is Thorns and Carnations.
Sinwar played a pivotal role in the negotiations for Gilad Shalit's release. Despite being part of the negotiation team, Sinwar opposed deals that did not include high-profile prisoners, known as "the impossibles", such as those serving multiple life sentences. Even after negotiations secured the release of over a thousand prisoners, including some high-profile ones, Sinwar remained adamant. This stance led to a rift in Hamas leadership, with Saleh al-Arouri, another prominent Hamas figure, recognizing the need for compromise. Despite efforts to persuade Sinwar, he persisted, even attempting to orchestrate a hunger strike involving 1,600 Hamas prisoners. His unwavering principles and refusal to compromise complicated negotiations. Eventually, Sinwar's authority waned as other Hamas leaders negotiated a deal without him, as Israeli authorities had put him in solitary confinement until the deal was reached. He was the most senior Palestinian prisoner released to Gaza among 1,026 others in the 2011 prisoner exchange for the soldier. In an interview with Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV, he expressed determination to continue efforts to free more prisoners, urging the Al-Qassam Brigades to kidnap soldiers for exchanges.
Education
Details about Yahya Sinwar’s formal education are limited. He was known to have studied Islamic studies at university in Gaza, but the specific institution and level of academic achievement are not well documented.
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.
His family were forcibly expelled from Majdal Asqalan, now known as Ashkelon, during the Nakba, and sought refuge in the Gaza Strip. Sinwar, discussing his refugee upbringing, tied it to his Hamas involvement in conversations with fellow prisoners during his later imprisonment. According to Esmat Mansour, another inmate, Sinwar was deeply affected by the communal living conditions and food distribution in the refugee camp. After he graduated from high school at Khan Yunis Secondary School for Boys, he went on to the Islamic University of Gaza, where he received a bachelor's degree in Arabic studies. His younger brother is Mohammed Sinwar, a military leader of Hamas.
Sinwar's time in prison was transformative, shaping his leadership qualities, according to Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official. Sinwar also mastered Hebrew through an online program and extensively studied Israeli news to comprehend his adversary better. He meticulously translated Hebrew autobiographies of former Shin Bet chiefs into Arabic, sharing them with fellow inmates to study counterterrorism tactics. He referred to himself as a "specialist in the Jewish people's history". Sinwar once remarked to supporters: "They wanted prison to be a grave for us, a mill to grind our will, determination and bodies. But, thank God, with our belief in our cause we turned the prison into sanctuaries of worship and academies for study." Ma'ariv reported that during his time in prison, Sinwar enrolled in fifteen courses through the Open University of Israel over a span of seven years, beginning in 1995. Most were in history, covering topics such as the history of the Jews in the Second Temple and Rabbinic periods, the First Temple period, The Holocaust, and Zionism, along with a political science course on governance and Israeli democracy.
