Yahya Al-Sinwar

Arabic profile: يحيى السنوارYahya Sinwar (1962–2024), one of the leaders of Hamas, was elected as the head of the movement’s political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh on August 6, 2024. He held this position until his martyrdom. Israel considered Sinwar one of the main planners of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023. Sinwar also led the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip since February 2017.Sinwar was born on October 29, 1962, in Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza. His parents were originally from Ashkelon and were forced to flee during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the occupation of their lands. He earned a bachelor's degree in Arabic language from the Islamic University of Gaza.He was a member of the Islamic Bloc, the student wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. In 1989, Sinwar was sentenced to four life terms by Israel for allegedly planning the killing of two Israeli soldiers. He spent 23 years in detention before being released in a prisoner exchange deal in 2011. During his imprisonment, Sinwar learned Hebrew, and after his release, he addressed Israelis in Hebrew and translated works from Hebrew to Arabic.A month after being appointed as the head of Hamas' political bureau, Sinwar sent a message of gratitude to Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for the party's involvement in resisting the Israeli occupation during the Al-Aqsa Flood battle. He emphasized that the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh in the Al-Aqsa Flood battle proves that the blood of leaders is not more precious than that of the Palestinian people.Sinwar authored four books and translated four others from Hebrew to Arabic, the most notable being the translation of "Shabak Between the Ruins" and "Israeli Parties". His authored works include the novel "Thorns and Carnations", "Glory", and "Hamas: Experiment and Error".