The Butcher of Chan Junis has nothing to lose
Once, Israeli doctors saved his life, he spent decades in prison, now Jihia Sinwar is the political leader of Hamas. What does the mastermind of October 7th want, who leads the terror group from an underground hideout?
For two days, Hamas officials negotiated in Doha over the succession of their political leader after Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an attack in Tehran. Several options were discussed, according to the BBC, but ultimately the most prominent and notorious figure was chosen: Jihia Sinwar, who was previously the head of the terror group in the Gaza Strip and, according to Israel, the mastermind behind the October 7th attacks.
The leadership change does not initially change Israel's priorities, as Sinwar is already at the top of the target list. The Israeli military referred to him as a "walking dead" after October 7th, and Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X after Sinwar's promotion that this was "another compelling reason to eliminate him quickly and wipe this despicable organization from the face of the earth."
However, hunting Sinwar is proving difficult for Israel. While the Gaza Strip resembles a wasteland, Sinwar leads Hamas from the underground. Since October 7th, he has not made any public appearances and is likely hiding in the extensive tunnel system under the coastal strip. When the military captured Sinwar's hometown of Khan Yunis in February, it released footage of an abandoned underground shelter with a shower, kitchen, and a safe full of cash, where Sinwar and his family are said to have lived.
Haniyeh was seen as a pragmatist
This is what sets him apart from his predecessor Haniyeh, who led a comfortable life in Doha, the capital of Qatar, until his death. Haniyeh was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul and traveled to Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian, which ultimately led to his downfall. Among diplomats, Haniyeh was seen as a pragmatist and relatively moderate. "They killed Haniyeh, the flexible person who was open to solutions. Now they have to deal with Sinwar and the military leadership," a Hamas official told the BBC.
Although Haniyeh was the official number one of Hamas, Sinwar always had the final say, according to US intelligence agencies, as reported by the "New York Times." His uncompromising position in the negotiations on the Gaza war is said to be a decisive reason why a deal has not yet been reached. According to the "New Yorker" magazine, Sinwar only communicates via notes and messengers, for fear of being located by the Israeli military. Sometimes it took days for Sinwar's approval or rejection to reach the negotiators.
Despite his prominent position in Hamas, Sinwar's election was not a foregone conclusion. In the past, the terror group has been careful to station its politburo leadership abroad to remain operational even in the event of attacks on Gaza. Internal factional struggles preceded the vote in Doha, according to the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung." Former Hamas chief Khaled Mashal is said to have tried to prevent Sinwar's election. According to the report, Mashal wants to reduce Iranian influence in Hamas and is more aligned with the Gulf states, but had to give in to the pro-Iranian forces in the leadership. Now all power is concentrated in Sinwar's hands. A man who has nothing more to lose.
The 61-year-old has dedicated his life to the struggle against Israel. His parents are from Ashkelon, present-day Israel. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the subsequent mass expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians made them refugees. Sinwar grew up in a refugee camp in Gaza, studied Arabic at university, and was first imprisoned at the age of 19 for "Islamic activities".
Sinwar belongs to the first generation of Hamas, maintaining a close relationship with its founder, Ahmad Yasin, until his death. In the 1980s, he commanded an internal security department tasked with identifying and brutally punishing collaborators with Israeli occupiers, earning him the enduring nickname "The Butcher of Khan Yunis".
Sinwar was responsible for numerous "brutal murders" during this time, according to Israeli journalist Ehud Yaari, who interviewed him four times. "Some of them with his own hands, and he was proud of it and spoke about it with me and others," Yaari told the BBC. In 1988, Israel sentenced him to four life sentences for the murder of several Palestinians and the planned abduction of Israeli soldiers. Court documents obtained by The New Yorker suggest that he already saw the latter as an effective means of pressuring Israel to release Palestinian prisoners.
A "Strange, Complex Figure"
While Sinwar was in prison, the Israeli government assessed his character. He was described as "cruel, authoritarian, influential, and equipped with unusual abilities such as endurance, cunning, and manipulation, with little satisfaction." He also had the ability to sway crowds. While Yaari is certain that Sinwar is a psychopath, he warns against simply saying "Sinwar is a psychopath, period," as it would overlook this "strange, complex figure." Sinwar is "extremely shrewd and cunning - a type who knows how to turn personal charm on and off."
According to former prison worker Betty Lahat, Sinwar became more radical in prison, becoming the spokesperson for imprisoned Palestinians and using violence against fellow inmates. He also extensively studied Israeli culture and history, learned Hebrew fluently, and memorized parts of the Torah. The New Yorker reports that Sinwar considered prison an "academy" where he could learn the psychology of the enemy.
"He is a very intelligent person who has invested in his intellectual development and a deep understanding of Israeli society," Lahat told the Israeli newspaper "Maariv". "He set up teams in prison to monitor all Israeli radio and television stations and track politicians. They listened to political analyses and diplomatic assessments."
When Sinwar was diagnosed with cancer in prison, Israeli doctors removed his brain tumor. Lahat asked him if he was grateful, to which he reportedly replied that it was simply their duty. In 2011, he was released after 24 years - one of 1027 Palestinians exchanged for a single soldier held in Gaza.
Back in Gaza, he married, had two children, and rose rapidly through the ranks of Hamas' power structure. In 2015, the U.S. placed him on their terror list, and in 2017, he was appointed Hamas' military leader in the Gaza Strip. Initially, he employed ambiguous political rhetoric, speaking of reconciliation with Fatah in the West Bank and a "peaceful popular resistance" by Hamas.
However, Sinwar never abandoned his belief in militancy and terror as viable means. At a rally in Gaza in December 2022, he declared, "We will come to you with endless rockets, with a limitless flood of soldiers, with millions of our people, like a recurring wave."
Hamas dubbed the October 7 terror attack, which resulted in over 1100 deaths, the "Al-Aqsa Flood." Sinwar, the mastermind behind the massacre, reportedly anticipated Israel's response. His strategy, according to Israeli and American intelligence officials cited by the New York Times, is to prolong the conflict in Gaza until Israel's international reputation is tarnished and its relationship with its key ally, the U.S., is strained.
As Israel's Public Enemy Number One, Sinwar is likely aware of the risk of being assassinated, even if the war ends. A Hamas official told the BBC that his election was a "message of defiance to Israel." Minutes after the announcement, Hamas' military wing claimed to have fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza into Israel.
The Gaza Strip serves as Sinwar's current base of operations, making it a challenging location for Israeli intelligence agencies to locate and eliminate him. The internal elections in Doha, following the death of Ismail Haniyeh, resulted in Sinwar's rise to political leadership within Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Despite the challenges in tracking him down, Israel's military and Foreign Minister have publicly expressed their desire to eliminate Sinwar, who they view as a major threat due to his role in the October 7th attacks and his leadership over Hamas.
