The Hamas leader who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war
Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, was the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.
He rose to the top position in August after the killing of the previous leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Iran that was blamed on Israel. On Thursday, Israel said troops in Gaza had killed Sinwar. A top Hamas political official confirmed the death Friday.
Some things to know about Sinwar:
Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in the Gaza town of Khan Younis. He was an early member of Hamas, which was formed in 1987. He eventually led the group’s security arm, which worked to purge it of spies for Israel.
