After Deif killed, is Mohammed Sinwar Hamas’s next terror master?

Mohammed Sinwar played a central role in preparing for the October 7 mass murder attack, overseeing the tunnel systems, logistics, infrastructure, recruitment and war planning.

By Yaakov Lappin, JNS

On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant entered the Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip for an operational assessment alongside Israel Defense Forces Southern Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman and other military commanders.

Gallant’s visit took place as Israel continued to conduct raids and airstrikes targeting Hamas terrorists across Gaza and as the IDF expanded the Netzarim Corridor to secure troops stationed there, separating northern Gaza from the rest of the Strip.

Addressing reserve soldiers currently on their third deployment since the beginning of the war, Gallant reiterated Israel’s determination to hunt down Hamas leaders, particularly the Sinwar brothers.

“We will continue to press and strike Hamas, wear them down, and eliminate them. We will reach Mohammed Sinwar and Yahya Sinwar. These accursed terrorists will be caught. Anyone who thinks otherwise should look at [Hamas’s number 3 in command, who was killed in an airstrike on central Gaza in March] Marwan Issa and Mohammed Deif [Hamas’s military-terror chief, killed in a strike on southern Gaza in July]. They, too, thought they were invincible. They made their mistake, and they are not with us today. He will make the same mistake, and we will complete our mission,” said Gallant.

The Sinwar brothers have become the symbol of what is left of Hamas’s military-terror leadership in Gaza, with Yahya Sinwar also becoming the official head of the Hamas political bureau, following the July 31 assassination of Ismael Haniyeh in Tehran.

Yahya’s younger brother, Mohammed Sinwar, plays a crucial role in Hamas’s military infrastructure, and the question of whether he has replaced the late Hamas commander of the military-terror wing is so far unclear.

Col. (res.) Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, noted that Mohammed Sinwar has grown in prominence in Hamas alongside his brother.

Born in 1975 in Khan Younis, Mohammed Sinwar grew up in meager surroundings, Milshtein said.

Mohammed Sinwar had spent time in an Israeli prison together with his brother, and after Mohammed’s release, he served as his brother’s representative to the Hamas’s military and political leadership in Gaza, while his brother, Yahya, directed terror attacks from prison.

Mohammed Sinwar also served time in a Palestinian Authority jail between 1996 to 1999, Milshtein said.

“His big professional ‘leap’ was made during the Second Intifada, when he was appointed commander of the military branch in Khan Younis, and later, [Hamas’s] Khan Yunis Brigade commander. He draws a lot of power from his closeness to Yahya, but also received his status independently,” said Milshtein.

His public image is also accompanied by “shadows, mainly due to rumors of his involvement in the sexual harassment of children,” Milshtein added.

Milshtein does not believe Mohammed Sinwar will solely replace Deif as Hamas’s military leader, despite his high-profile terrorist role, but could fill the vacuum together with “someone like Az Aldin Haddad, commander of Gaza City, or Raed Saad, one of the top commanders who may have been killed in April.”

Either way, Mohammed remains an important figure within Hamas’s ranks, and he could today be commanding southern Gaza (south of Netzarim Corridor), Milshtein assessed.

Milshtein said that Mohammed Sinwar played a central role in preparing for the October 7 mass murder attack, overseeing the tunnel systems (where he appeared in a video driving a vehicle), logistics, infrastructure, recruitment and war planning.

“It seems, and I say this cautiously, that he is part of the inner circle that Yahya relies upon to formulate strategy and manage the war, as well as control over Gaza. He of course earns great trust from his brother,” Milshtein stated.

Michael Barak, senior researcher and head of the Global Jihad Research Program at the International Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University, stated that “Mohammed Sinwar is a highly secretive figure but also a very important military commander in Hamas’s military wing. He’s one of the most prominent candidates to succeed Deif, due to his rich military experience and successes that he delivered for the organization like many terror attacks against Israelis. He’s the planning brain behind the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, and particularly because he is the brother of Yahya Sinwar,” Barak said.

Barak noted that Mohammed Sinwar acquired his basic education at UNRWA-affiliated schools, and that from a young age. Mohammed’s early involvement in Hamas came through his elder brother, Yahya, who influenced him to join the terror movement shortly after its founding in December 1987.

Mohammed’s terrorist leadership trajectory began when he joined the Qassam Brigades and eventually rose through the ranks, assuming command of the Khan Younis Brigade in 2005, said Barak, adding that around this time he began to get close to Hamas military leaders, including Mohammed Deif and his deputy, Marwan Issa.

He then was appointed as commander of special missions and logistics, and was one of the planners who thought of using attack tunnels against IDF positions during the Second Intifada.

Barak added that Mohammed Sinwar survived six assassination attempts by Israel, which made him retreat from public view.

“Thus, for example, after an assassination attempt in 2003, he vanished from view, and did not take a public role in his father’s funeral, who died aged 90 on January 12, 2022. His public statements were rare—only twice made,” said Barak.

Mohammed Sinwar appeared once in a recording released by Hamas after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, and again in 2022, following Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.

“Israel views Mohammed Sinwar as one of the planners of the October 7 massacre,” Barak added.

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