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Who is Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar?

(FILES) Yahya Sinwar attends the opening of a new mosque in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2017. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
(FILES) Yahya Sinwar attends the opening of a new mosque in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2017. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
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Who is Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar?

(FILES) Yahya Sinwar attends the opening of a new mosque in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2017. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
(FILES) Yahya Sinwar attends the opening of a new mosque in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2017. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, has been killed in a military operation.
His death would be a significant moment in Israel's yearlong offensive against the militant group and could complicate efforts to release dozens of hostages held in Gaza.
Sinwar became the head of Hamas after the killing of the previous leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an explosion in Iran in July that was widely blamed on Israel.
Some things to know about Sinwar:
From refugee camp to Hamas militant 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 informants for Israel.
Israel arrested him in the late 1980s and he admitted to killing 12 suspected collaborators, a role that earned him the nickname “The Butcher of Khan Younis.” He was sentenced to four life terms for offenses that included the killing of two Israeli soldiers, The Associated Press reported.
A prison leader Sinwar organized strikes in prison to improve working conditions. He also studied Hebrew and Israeli society.
He survived brain cancer in 2008 after being treated by Israeli doctors.
Sinwar was among more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in 2011 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of an exchange for an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in a cross-border raid.
When Sinwar returned to Gaza, he quickly rose through Hamas' leadership ranks with a reputation for ruthlessness. He is widely believed to be behind the 2016 killing of another top Hamas commander, Mahmoud Ishtewi, in an internal power struggle.
Sinwar became head of Hamas in Gaza, effectively putting him in control of the territory, and worked with Haniyeh to align the group with Iran and its proxies around the region while also building the group's military capabilities.
There is widespread evidence that Sinwar, along with Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas’ armed wing, engineered the surprise Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor sought arrest warrants in May for Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh for their alleged roles in the attack.
Israel said it killed Deif in a strike in July, while Hamas says he is still alive.
Where would this leave Hamas? Sinwar has been in hiding since the attack, and cease-fire negotiators have said it can take several days to send and receive messages from him.
Even before becoming Hamas' top leader, Sinwar was believed to have the final word on any deal to release hostages held by the militant group. Some 100 hostages remain in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.
It's unclear who would replace Sinwar, and what that might mean for the cease-fire efforts, which sputtered to a halt in August after months of negotiations brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

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Here’s What Happens Next During the Ceasefire in Gaza

Palestinian former inmates of the Ofer military prison are welcomed upon arriving to Ramallah after being released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 25 January 2025. (EPA)
Palestinian former inmates of the Ofer military prison are welcomed upon arriving to Ramallah after being released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 25 January 2025. (EPA)
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Here’s What Happens Next During the Ceasefire in Gaza

Palestinian former inmates of the Ofer military prison are welcomed upon arriving to Ramallah after being released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 25 January 2025. (EPA)
Palestinian former inmates of the Ofer military prison are welcomed upon arriving to Ramallah after being released as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, 25 January 2025. (EPA)

The first week of the latest ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas group is complete. Hamas has begun to release hostages and Israel has freed nearly 300 Palestinian prisoners.

But the deal has hit its first major complication. Israel on Saturday said a female civilian hostage named Arbel Yahoud was supposed to be released and it has delayed the planned return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead in the five remaining weeks of the ceasefire's first phase.

What’s happened so far

This is the second ceasefire in 15 months of the deadliest and most destructive war between Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza. The first occurred over a year ago and lasted a week. The current ceasefire is longer and holds the potential to end the war, though the steps toward that are vastly more challenging than what’s unfolding now. The mediators are Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Early this week, the first three Israeli hostages held in Gaza were released and the first 90 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel were released several hours later. On Saturday, another four hostages and 200 Palestinian prisoners were released.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have pulled back to buffer zones inside Gaza, fighting has stopped, hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid have entered the territory and many Palestinians displaced by the war have been returning to what remains of their homes and communities.

What’s next

Saturday was Day 7 of the ceasefire. Starting on Day 14, next Saturday, three hostages should be released every seven days in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners.

By the end of the 42 days, all living women, children and older people held by the fighters should be freed. Eventually, bodies of hostages might be included in the releases, as Israel believes at least a third of the more than 90 captives still inside Gaza were killed in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war or have died in captivity.

By Sunday, Israel was meant to allow Palestinians to return to badly hit northern Gaza. But Israel now says Palestinians will not be able to cross north through the Netzarim corridor that bisects the territory east to west because Yahoud had not been freed.

The deal called for the release of civilian women on Saturday and soldiers were freed instead. It was not immediately clear why Yahoud was not released.

Hamas said it held Israel responsible for “any delay in implementing the agreement and its repercussions.”

A senior Hamas official said the group told mediators that Yahoud will be released next week. An Egyptian official involved in negotiations called the matter a “minor issue” that mediators were working to resolve. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Already, hundreds of anxious Palestinians were gathering and waiting to cross into northern Gaza, which like much of the rest of the territory has been largely destroyed.

One Palestinian was shot and killed near the Netzarim corridor on Saturday, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Israel's military didn't immediately comment.

After the first six weeks

In the ceasefire’s second phase, all remaining hostages are to be released in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a “sustainable calm.” Talks about Phase 2 are set to begin on Day 16, Feb. 3.

But a lot remains to be discussed. Israel has said that after the ceasefire's first phase, it will decide how to proceed.

Israel has said it won’t agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas’ military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas says it will not hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops from the territory.

Both sides will have to agree to a plan for governing Gaza. Hamas has said it would be willing to step aside, but it may still seek a hand in any future government, which Israel has rejected. And Hamas is unlikely to give up its weapons.

If all sides reach the third phase, it is likely to be less contentious. The bodies of remaining hostages would be returned in exchange for a three- to five-year reconstruction plan in Gaza, but who will pay for it remains unclear.