– Dr. Khan Yasir
In the Khan Younis refugee camp, located in southern Gaza, Yahya Sinwar was born on October 29, 1962. His family originally hailed from al-Majdal Asqalan, but they, like thousands of other Palestinians, were displaced in 1948 during the ethnic cleansing, that has been painfully etched in the memories of Palestinians as, the Nakba (“The Catastrophe”).
Sinwar had memorised the Qur’ān, completed his high school at Khan Younis and graduated (in Arabic) from Islamic University of Gaza. His energy, commitment, organisational skills, and activism stood out, leading to several arrests by Israeli authorities throughout the 1980s. He cofounded Majd (Munazzamat al-Jihad wal Dawa) and later served in and eventually led the military wing of Hamas i.e. the Al-Qassam Brigades.
He had joined Hamas (Arabic abbreviation for Islamic Resistance Movement) at its founding in 1987. His active role in the resistance led to another arrest in 1988, resulting in a sentence of consecutive four life terms. He remained imprisoned for a total of 22 years before being released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, along with 1,026 other Palestinians. Following his release, Sinwar quickly rose through Hamas’s leadership ranks. In 2017, he became the organisation’s chief in Gaza. After Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in July 2024, he was elected Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau.
22 Years in Israeli Jails
Extended periods of incarceration often result in detrimental psychological effects like depression, anxiety, PTSD, emotional numbness, and social withdrawal. But the long imprisonment, instead of breaking Sinwar from within, seemed to have strengthened him in his resolve and commitment. While Sinwar was always uncompromising in his resistance and steadfast in his beliefs, the years he spent in Israeli prisons were also formative and significant in several ways, deepening his faith, strengthening his determination, and shaping his leadership style and strategic approach with a sharper focus on tactical intelligence.
Sinwar treated the Israeli prison as an “academy” where he used his time to become fluent in Hebrew. This fluency provided him with a direct access to Israeli newspapers, radio broadcasts, and books, which helped him understand the enemy’s culture, history, and mindset more deeply. He meticulously studied Zionist philosophy, military strategies, Israeli law, and the writings of prominent Jewish thinkers, Zionist theorists, Israeli politicians and intelligence chiefs. This rigorous intellectual exercise equipped him with a more effective approach to resistance and negotiations.
Sinwar wrote a novel titled Al-Shawk wa’l Qurunful (translated as “The Thorn and the Carnation”) during his incarceration, which was smuggled out by fellow inmates. The story drew parallels to his own life and the Palestinian struggle, portraying the resilience of Gazans under occupation.
Sinwar’s intellectual endeavours did not leave him socially redundant even in the jail. His leadership qualities blossomed within the confines of prison. He took on various leadership roles, including serving as an emir within the Hamas prison structure, where leaders were elected democratically. This reinforced his influence and solidified his authority among the inmates. His administration of Hamas’s prison operations taught him valuable practical lessons in human management and leadership. Despite his leadership status, and all the rhetoric of him being ruthless, Sinwar voluntarily engaged in daily chores and shared responsibilities like cooking duties with junior inmates. A born leader, he shared a natural camaraderie with fellow inmates and even made knafeh (a Palestinian dessert) for them. This humility and camaraderie helped him build strong bonds and maintain a sense of unity and shared purpose.
It seems that Yahya Sinwar had this soft, cordial and compassionate side of his personality reserved for his companions. To the colonisers and oppressors, however, he remained a formidable figure—unyielding and awe-inspiring, like the hidden, darker side of the moon. May be this was deliberate on his part while following the Qur’ānic injunction: “Muhammadﷺ is Allah’s Messenger, and those who are with him are firm with the unbelievers but compassionate with one another.” (48: 29)
David Remnick writes that in the prison, Sinwar “betrayed no fear of his jailers”, instead, the Shin Bet interrogator recalled Sinwar telling him, “You know that one day you will be the one under interrogation, and I will stand here as the government, as the interrogator.” This is an indication of his faith in the righteousness of his cause and eventual victory of the truth.
Sinwar was not an easy prisoner. Reportedly, he attempted multiple escapes, and although these efforts ultimately did not succeed, the prison walls still could not contain his influence or suppress his activities. He remained in touch with Hamas leadership, smuggled cell phones into prison and used visitors to relay strategic messages, often involving plans of kidnapping Israeli soldiers to be used for prisoners’ exchange. No doubt that, Israeli authorities, in their assessment of Sinwar, have described him as “ruthless” and “powerful” during his imprisonment.
Sinwar played a crucial role in negotiating the 2011 release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, which led to his own freedom along with 1,026 other Palestinian prisoners. This achievement not only solidified his reputation as a skilled negotiator but also strengthened his status as a symbol of resistance. However, even with this outcome, Sinwar was reportedly dissatisfied; he was aiming for the freedom of even more inmates from the mental, psychological, and physical torment of Israel’s hell-like prisons but had to obey the orders of the leadership.
Following his release, Sinwar continued to advocate for the capture of Israeli soldiers to be used for freeing more Palestinian prisoners. The kidnappings of 7th Oct can also be seen in this context as clearly stated by Hamas officially. The document Our Narrative: Operation Aqsa Flood released by Hamas Media Office states: “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct. 7 targeted the Israeli military sites, and sought to arrest the enemy’s soldiers to pressure on the Israeli authorities to release the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli jails through a prisoners exchange deal. Therefore, the operation focused on destroying the Israeli army’s Gaza Division, the Israeli military sites stationed near the Israeli settlements around Gaza.”
Hence, Sinwar’s years in prison were not merely a period of captivity; they were years of strategic growth, ideological deepening, and unwavering commitment to resistance. These experiences significantly influenced his leadership style and his approach to the Palestinian struggle for independence.
The philosophy of resistance
On May 15, 2021, an Israeli airstrike targeted Yahya Sinwar’s home in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza during a period of relentless bombings. Amidst the chaos and devastation, Sinwar made a series of bold public appearances over the following week, the most remarkable of which was a press conference on May 27. During the press conference, he audaciously declared that he would walk home from the venue, openly challenging Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz to attempt an assassination during the walk. True to his word and fearless to the core, Sinwar spent the next hour strolling through the streets of Gaza, engaging with residents and posing for photos.
Hind Hassan, the last journalist to conduct a one-on-one interview with Sinwar at that time, described him as a man “who was defiant” in his beliefs, noting that he was “walking down the street in full view” at a time when Israeli bombings had ravaged Gaza for 11 days straight, and “everyone had believed he was in hiding”. She observed that he did “not shy away” from addressing tough questions.
David Remnick, in his “Notes from Underground: The Life of Yahya Sinwar, The Leader of Hamas In Gaza”, captures Sinwar’s indelible image as he writes: “Sinwar’s image – close-cut gray hair and beard, protruding ears, a penetrating gaze – is known to nearly every Israeli and Palestinian.” But there is one image in particular that stands out as typical Sinwar.
Amidst these brutal bombings, Remnick continues, “Sinwar had his photograph taken sitting in an armchair, legs crossed, flashing a rare, defiant smile. He is surrounded by rubble that was once his house.” The powerful image resonated deeply with Gazans, who soon began posting their own photos on social media, sitting on chairs outside the ruins of their destroyed homes, in a gesture of shared resilience.
In a candid conversation with Italian journalist Francesca Borri in 2018, Yahya Sinwar spoke with a mix of pride and bitterness about the resilience of Gaza’s youth under Israel’s draconian control. He praised the “brilliant” young minds of Gaza who found ways to innovate despite the suffocating restrictions. “With old fax machines and old computers, a group of twenty-somethings assembled a 3-D printer to produce medical equipment that is barred from entry,” Sinwar recounted. “That’s Gaza. We are not just destitution and barefoot children. We have the potential to become like Singapore or Dubai.”
When Borri pressed him to compare his years in Israeli prison to his current life as a leader in Gaza, Sinwar did not hesitate, “I have only changed prisons,” he said matter-of-factly. “And, despite it all, the old one was much better than this one. I had water, electricity. I had so many books. Gaza is much tougher.”
Yahya Sinwar’s philosophy of resistance was shaped by a longing for peace and an unyielding readiness for resistance. He believed that Palestinians need peace, in his words, “We know that we don’t want war or fighting because it costs lives. And our people deserve peace,” but he viewed the path to such peace as one paved with active resistance. His vision of peace was not one that comes at the cost of self-respect and freedom. He was not ready to surrender before the oppressive forces. Once, he had rhetorically asked, “Does the world expect us to be well-behaved victims while we are getting killed? For us to be slaughtered without making a noise?”
His conviction was that silence in the face of aggression would be tantamount to complicity. For Sinwar, Palestinian resistance was a legitimate and necessary response to an oppressor that deliberately targets civilians, including children and women. In his words, “Israel which possesses a complete arsenal of weaponry, state-of-the-art equipment, and aircrafts – intentionally bombs and kills our children and women. And they do that on purpose. You cannot compare that to those who resist and defend themselves with weapons that look primitive in comparison.”
Sinwar’s tone of defiance and his commitment to escalating the resistance often comes to the forefront. In a conversation with journalist Francesca Borri, he spoke openly about his plans for future conflict. “In the next war, we will initiate the fighting – and the war will be on Israeli territory, not Palestinian,” he declared. His words reflected a grim determination to shift the battleground away from Gaza’s battered landscape, conveying both a tactical aim to take the fight beyond Gaza’s borders and a symbolic message of resilience. The name “Aqsa Flood” for the intended uprising evoked an image of overwhelming force as he declared, “We will come to you, in Sha Allah, in a roaring flood. We will come to you with an endless number of rockets. We will come to you in a flood of soldiers without limit. We will come to you with millions of our people tide after tide.”
At the heart of Sinwar’s philosophy lies a vision for a single Palestinian state that unites the fragmented territories of besieged Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and the occupied East Jerusalem. Sinwar’s rhetoric, leadership and strategy thus encapsulate a philosophy where resistance is both a means of survival and a path to achieve a larger political goal: a unified Palestinian homeland achieved through struggle, not mere diplomacy. For him, resistance is not simply a strategy, but a moral and existential imperative.
This philosophy of resistance had found an echo among the masses. According to the BBC, after Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, Yahya Sinwar’s election as the leader of Hamas “signalled the end of an era and the beginning of a new, more extreme phase”.
As per Hamas officials, Sinwar was elected due to his considerable popularity in the Arab and Islamic worlds following the October 7 attacks and his strong connections with the “Axis of Resistance”, a network of armed groups led by Iran. No doubt that Sinwar had a bounty of $400,000 on him.
Legacy as a leader
As discussed earlier, Sinwar did not lose his sheen during his years in Israeli prisons. On the contrary, he emerged as a symbol of resistance, embodying the resilience of the Palestinian struggle. To his credit, despite languishing in an exacting and protracted captivity for more than two decades, he maintained strong ties with the rank-and-file of Hamas. His skills in counterintelligence were honed during this time, as he played a pivotal role in identifying and neutralising threats posed by spies, collaborators, and informants within the organisation. These measures not only ensured the movement’s internal security but also cemented his reputation as a committed and no-nonsense leader.
The period after 2017, when Yahya Sinwar took charge of Gaza, is marked by a series of bold initiatives that define his legacy as a leader. His leadership is characterised by his unyielding defiance, strategic adaptability, and ability to maintain strong grassroots connections. As the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Sinwar made significant strides in regional diplomacy by rebuilding ties with influential allies. He restored relationships with Egypt, facilitating critical cross-border support, and revitalised connections with Iran, despite previous disagreements over the Syrian civil war. These diplomatic efforts helped solidify Hamas’s position and bolstered its military and financial capabilities, making Sinwar a key figure in the movement’s broader geopolitical strategy.
Sinwar’s fearlessness was both inspirational and contagious. As noted earlier, his philosophy of resistance deeply resonated with Gazans, as demonstrated by the viral trend where thousands posed for photos, mirroring his calm and defiant demeanour in front of the ruins of their devastated homes. His valour can be epitomised in one of his statements, from the same press conference that has been liberally cited above, he had declared: “I say that the greatest gift the enemy and the occupation can give me is to assassinate me and that I meet Allah Almighty as a martyr at their hands. Today, I am 59 years old. Honestly, I would prefer to be martyred by an F-16 or missiles than to die from COVID-19 or to die from a stroke or a heart attack or in a car accident or from one of those reasons people usually die from. So I prefer to be killed as a martyr rather than die in vain.” This sentiment underscored the strength of his faith and his unwavering commitment to the Palestinian freedom struggle, and his martyrdom would ultimately amplify that legacy.
Sinwar’s end came in a manner that embodied his life’s defiance. In his final moments, captured by the Israeli drone, Sinwar appeared to be severely injured, holding AK-47, wearing battle fatigues and tactical vest, with face and head covered with kuffiyeh, shrouded in dust from an Israeli tank shell fired at the building, he did not try to expose himself and surrender or ask mercy for his life but tried to fling a stick at the drone. Ashish Prashar recounts what happened:
- “Sinwar engaged an Israeli brigade directly with a handful of fighters.”
- “When resisting he ran into the building and got up to the second floor.”
- “They shot a tank shell at him. He lost his arm. And still when the occupation tried to raid the building; with one hand he threw grenades down at them injuring several members of the occupation.”
- “After sending a drone in to see if he was still alive, he used his last breaths to throw a stick at that drone in defiance of the occupation.”
The message of the video to the Palestinian people, Prashar emphasises, is very clear and it reads that: Hamas and their leaders put their lives on the line for Palestinian liberation. Prashar cheekily compares the character shown by Sinwar in his final moments with that of Netanyahu and Israelis when he says, “It shows a character that is the total opposite of a man who hides in a bunker at the first sign of a rocket. Sinwar famously said a minute living with dignity and pride is better than thousands of years under the boots of occupation. Sinwar’s life might have ended but his legacy has only just begun. The Israeli occupation has successfully immortalised him. This is a man who died fighting on the front lines resisting an occupation of him and his people until the very end.”
Leila Molana-Allen, the special correspondent of PBS, has commented: “Not sure why IDF chose to release this (Sinwar’s video)… it shows him fighting to the last having lost an arm, on the frontlines with his fighters rather than hiding in a tunnel behind human shields which has been IDF’s narrative.”
Dan Cohen echoed this view, when he interprets Sinwar’s act of throwing the stick at the drone filming him as “a final act of defiance against the Zionist occupation”, Cohen seems to be on point when he says about Sinwar, “In his death, he became a legend.”
Mustafa Barghouti argues that Sinwar’s final stand exposed the inaccuracies in Israeli propaganda about him as he was neither hiding behind the human shields of civilians or Israeli captives, nor was he running away and hiding in tunnels, as alleged.
In short, Yahya Sinwar’s martyrdom did not diminish his impact but rather immortalised him as a figure of resistance, whose legacy as a symbol of defiance against occupation lives on. His life and his last stand serve as a testament to his commitment and steadfastness, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire those who are struggling with all their might and sacrificing all they have in order to liberate their land and people.
To live with one’s head held high or to die with dignity – the lesson in defiance against falsehood is not new. Yahya Sinwar was actually walking in the footsteps of Hazrat Husain (RA), and his ultimate sacrifice seems to have invigorated the new generation of Palestinians who are ready to carry the torch forward and follow the path of resistance and sacrifice.
