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Who is Yahya Sinwar? Why Israeli media compared him with Osama Bin Laden ?
Head of Hamas' political wing in the Gaza Strip, Sinwar is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks in Southern Israel.
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Yahya Sinwar is one of the most wanted terrorists for Israel. Head of Hamas' political wing in the Gaza Strip, Sinwar is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the October 7 attacks in Southern Israel. Notably, Hamas had killed hundreds of innocent civilians, raped women and beheaded babies in the unprovoked attacks on a Jewish holiday, and it proved to be the trigger for the ongoing war.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the Israeli military had surrounded the house of Sinwar. However, Sinwar is yet to be found and the Israeli army believes that he is hiding underground somewhere in the Gaza region. Meanwhile, Israel's offensive is on in Khan Younis in Gaza which is considered to be the hotbed of Hamas terrorists and its leadership.
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In Israeli media, Sinwar has been compared to dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden who was responsible for 9/11 attacks in the United States. Earlier, International Spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces Lt. Col. Richard Hecht had called Sinwar the “face of evil” and declared him a “dead man walking.”
Yahya Sinwar and his nefarious activities
Sinwar was declared a global terrorist by the US Department of State in 2015. Recently, France imposed asset freezes and added him to its national sanctions list.
Sinwar became a member of Hamas in the late 1980s. He quickly rose through the ranks and later became one of the founders of Hamas' internal intelligence apparatus, known as the Majd.
He spent more than two decades lodged in Israeli jail, for the murder of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians whom he suspected of collaboration with Israel. In 2011, he was released as part of a deal which involved the exchange of an IDF soldier.
