Yahya Al-Sinwar: The life of Hamas’ secretive leader and the architect of “Al-Aqsa Storm.”
Childhood and Family
Yahya Sinwar’s family hails from Majdal in occupied Palestine, an area that the Zionists renamed “Ashkelon” following the occupation of Palestine in 1948. Sinwar’s father was only 16 years old when he moved to the Gaza Strip with his family, settling in an area that was not yet home to the Khan Yunis Palestinian refugee camp. Once the camp was established, he chose to reside there. It was in Khan Yunis that Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the Al-Aqsa Storm, was born on October 7, 2023.
As the eldest child in a family of seven, all of whom engaged in the struggle against the Zionist regime, Yahya’s childhood was marked by poverty and hardship, particularly during the struggles of the Palestinian people during the 1967 Six-Day War. He rarely saw his father and uncle during his upbringing, as he was primarily raised by his grandfather and uncle.
Yahya’s father was a descendant of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and was deeply committed to his religious duties. Influenced by his father’s dedication, Yahya naturally followed a similar path of resisting occupation. Due to his involvement in the struggle, Yahya, along with his brother Muhammad, was unable to attend their father’s funeral in 2022, when he passed away at the age of 90.
Early Life
Yahya Sinwar completed his elementary education in Khan Yunis schools and later earned a bachelor’s degree in Arabic literature from the Islamic University of Gaza. While imprisoned, he authored the novel “The Thorn and the Clove.” From his student days, he was a leader of the Islamic student movement at Gaza University, actively participating in the fight against the Zionist regime.
During his youth, encouraged by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Yahya and a group of young people from Gaza founded a cultural organization called “Al-A’idoun,” which organized socio-cultural activities like theater performances and cultural programs. Among his collaborators in these cultural endeavors was Mohammed Diab Al-Masri, also known as Abu Khaled or Mohammed Deif.
In 1982, while a student, he was placed in administrative detention by the Zionist regime for four months due to his Islamic activities. A week after his release, he was re-arrested and imprisoned for another six months without trial.
After completing university in 1984, before the official establishment of the Hamas movement, Yahya engaged in security activities alongside several of its founders. He was viewed as a key security figure within the structure of the Palestinian resistance movements from the outset. The Zionists allege that he established Hamas’s security apparatus, known as “Majd,” under the guidance of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, along with Khaled Al-Hindi and Ruhi Mushtah. Consequently, in 1985, the Zionist regime imprisoned Yahya Sinwar for eight months.
In 1988, he was arrested on charges of kidnapping and killing two Zionist soldiers and murdering four Palestinians accused of collaborating with the Zionist regime. He was sentenced to 425 years in prison (four life sentences plus 25 years). However, he was released in 2011 after spending 22 years in prison as part of the “freedmen” exchange (Safqat al-Ahrar).