Is Yahya Sinwar Dead? IDF Investigates Hamas Chief's Mysterious Disappearance

Is Yahya Sinwar Dead? IDF Investigates Hamas Chief’s Mysterious Disappearance

Amid the worsening Gaza crisis, Israel is said to be exploring whether Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, has been killed. Hebrew media outlets have reported that Sinwar has not been reachable for some time — leading to speculation about his fate, The Times of Israel noted. But there is no hard evidence to support these rumors and an investigation is being carried out by Israeli authorities. Military Intelligence officers from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reportedly think Sinwar may have died in one of the IDF attacks on Gaza; again there is no proof and Shin Bet (the country’s domestic intelligence agency) believes it is more likely than not he still among living people.

Security officials have suggested that he may have been killed, but say there is no firm evidence for now. The Times of Israel points out that Sinwar has disappeared from view before and spent days in hiding in tunnels; this has created additional uncertainty. Haaretz reports that recent Israeli Defence Force attacks targeted tunnels in which Sinwar was thought to be sheltering. However, while not denying these reports, the IDF has refused to confirm them either — stressing that it does not know for certain.

For a long time, Sinwar has been known as the brains behind the Hamas attack on October 7. This attack killed 1,200 people in Israel. He has always stayed out of the limelight – until now. After Haniyeh was assassinated, Sinwar took over from him as head of Hamas’ political wing. There has been no official sighting since he appeared at talks between Israel and Hamas about their ceasefire – which later broke down.

Gossip is rife about what has happened to Sinwar. At the moment though there is nothing solid to go on except that nobody has seen or heard from him for weeks. Shortly after the assault on October 7 – when Sinwar went underground with his family into tunnels controlled by Hamas – he vanished. Where he may be is anybody’s guess!