The Islamic resistance movement Hamas announced today, Friday, the martyrdom of its political office chief and the commander of the battle of "Al-Aqsa Flood" in a clash with occupation forces in an advanced combat axis in the Tel Al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah.
Member of the political office of Hamas, Khalil al-Hayya, said in a speech: "Al-Sinwar ascended intentionally, not by chance, at the forefront, moving between combat locations."
Hamas declared in a mourning statement: "With all meanings of pride, dignity, honor, and glory, we mourn to our Palestinian people and to our nation as a whole and to the free people of the world a man of noblest men and bravest men… a man who dedicated his life for Palestine, and offered his soul in the path of Allah for its liberation, may Allah accept him and grant him martyrdom with those who preceded him among his martyr brothers."
The movement added that Sinwar "ascended as a hero martyr, intentionally ascending, his weapon drawn, engaged and facing the occupation army at the forefront, moving between all combat locations, steadfast and resolute on the land of dignified Gaza, defending the land of Palestine and its sanctities, inspiring the spirit of resilience, patience, steadfastness, and resistance."
The statement continued: “The martyr leader Yahya Sinwar lived as a mujahid and made his way in the Hamas movement since he was a young man involved in its jihadist activities. Then, during the 23 years of captivity, he subdued the Zionist jailer. After he was released from prison in the Wafa al-Ahrar deal, he continued his giving, planning, and jihad until his eyes were filled with joy on October 7, 2023. The day of the great flood that shook the depths of the entity and exposed the fragility of its alleged security, and what followed of epics of legendary steadfastness of our people and the heroism of our victorious resistance, until he attained the most honorable position and the highest medal and ascended to be with his Lord as a martyr, satisfied with what he had offered in jihad and giving.” The movement stated that the martyr leader Yahya Sinwar “was a continuation of the caravan of great martyr leaders following in the footsteps of the founding martyr Sheikh Mujahid Ahmed Yassin, Dr. Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, al-Muqaddamah, Abu Shanab, Jamal Mansour, Jamal Salim, the martyr leader Ismail Haniyeh, his deputy Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, and the caravan of martyrs from all the leaders and sons of our people and our nation.”
The movement stressed that “this blood will continue to light the way for us and constitute an incentive for more steadfastness and perseverance, and that the Hamas movement is continuing with the covenant of the founding leaders and martyrs until the aspirations of our people are achieved for comprehensive liberation, return, and the establishment of the Palestinian state on all Palestinian national soil with Jerusalem as its capital, God willing, and it will turn into a curse on the invading occupiers who invade this land.”
Hamas pointed out that the martyrdom of Sinwar and all the leaders and symbols of the movement who preceded him on the path of pride, martyrdom, and the project of liberation and return. All of those “will only increase the strength, steadfastness, and determination of the Hamas movement and our resistance to continue on their path and to be loyal to their blood and sacrifices. A movement that offers its leaders and sons as martyrs on the path of defending the rights of its people is a proud and authentic movement, rooted in its people.” Hamas sent a message to those mourning the prisoners of the occupation with the resistance, saying: These prisoners will not return except by stopping the aggression on Gaza, withdrawing from it, and releasing our heroic prisoners from the occupation prisons.
Birth and upbringing
Yahya Ibrahim Sinwar was born on October 19, 1962, in Khan Yunis refugee camp to a family that was displaced by the Zionists from the city of Majdal Asqalan in 1948.
Education and education
He studied in Khan Yunis schools until he completed his secondary education at Khan Yunis Secondary School for Boys, and joined the Islamic University in Gaza, where he obtained a bachelor's degree in Arabic language.
Sinwar emerged in the public student debate arenas among the blocs, and headed the Islamic Bloc and was one of its most prominent theorists.
The Resistance Experience
Sinwar is considered one of the first Palestinian leaders who led various forms of resistance against the occupation since the early eighties of the last century.
He participated in the establishment of the first movement security apparatus (Da'wa Security) headed by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1983, and was assigned with others in 1986 to form the Jihad and Da'wa Organization (Majd), and was the most prominent leader of the organization.
In 1982, Sinwar was arrested for the first time, then released after several days, only to be arrested again in the same year, and then sentenced to 6 months in prison for his resistance activity.
In 1985, he was arrested again for eight months after being accused of establishing the Hamas security apparatus known as “Majd”, as the apparatus was working to resist the occupation in the Gaza Strip, and combat Palestinian collaborators with it.
In 1988, the occupation arrested him for the third time and sentenced him to 4 life sentences, after he was accused of establishing the Majd security apparatus, and participating in establishing the movement’s first military apparatus.
Sinwar spent 23 consecutive years in occupation prisons, 4 of which were in solitary confinement.
He assumed the leadership of the Supreme Leadership Authority of Hamas prisoners in prisons for several sessions, and led a series of hunger strikes, the most prominent of which were (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004).
From Prisoner to Leader
Gilad Shalit was released in 2011 as part of the "Wafa Al-Ahrar" deal, where the Israeli soldier was released in exchange for the release of 1027 Palestinian prisoners.
Shalit was captured on June 25, 2006, by fighters from the Al-Qassam Brigades affiliated with Hamas, the Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades affiliated with the Popular Resistance Committees, and the Army of Islam, in a high-profile military operation called "Operation Skewed Illusion". This operation was considered one of the most complex Palestinian operations since the Second Intifada broke out.
The prisoner exchange deal "Wafa Al-Ahrar" took place after more than 5 years that Shalit spent in secret captivity in Gaza, as Israel failed with all its intelligence capabilities and collaborators to locate him. Their aggression at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 also failed to rescue him from captivity.
He was elected as a member of the political bureau of the movement in the Gaza Strip, and took over the security file in 2012, then he was elected as a member of the general political bureau and took over the military file in 2013.
He was also elected as the leader of the movement in the Gaza Strip in February 2017, and on August 6, 2024, he was chosen as the head of the political bureau of the movement after the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh.
The United States included him in its "international terrorists" blacklist in September 2015, and he was responsible for the issue of Zionist captives within the Al-Qassam Brigades.
His home was bombed and destroyed in 1989, and again during the 2014 aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Works:
He is proficient in Hebrew. He has several political and security publications and translations, including: "Shin Bet Between the Fragments", "Israeli Parties in 1992", "Hamas: Experience and Error", the book "The Glory" which documents the work of the Shin Bet agency, a literary novel entitled " Thorn and Clove " (which tells the story of Palestinian struggle from 1967 to the Intifada).
