Hamas demands Israel return bodies of Yahya Sinwar and his brother

Hamas is reportedly conditioning its acceptance of President Trump’s peace plan on Israel’s return of the bodies of the architect of the October 7th invasion and his brother.

By World Israel News Staff

The Hamas terror organization is demanding that Israel turn over the remains of two of the group’s slain leaders, conditioning the release of the 48 Israeli hostages on Israel’s handing over of the bodies, according to a report published on Tuesday.

On Monday, delegations from Israel and Hamas kicked off indirect talks at the seaside town of Sharm el-Sheikh on the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in a bid to iron out differences on the implementation of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

According to Arab mediators cited by The Wall Street Journal, one of the points of contention in the talks is Hamas’ insistence that Israel hand over the bodies of Yahya Sinwar and his brother, Mohammed Sinwar, both of whom led Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip.

Yahya, who also served briefly as the head of Hamas’ politburo, was released from an Israeli prison in 2011 as part of the Shalit deal. After being tapped to lead Hamas, Yahya drafted plans for the October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre of Israelis.

After he was killed by IDF forces in southern Gaza in October 2024, Yahya’s younger brother, Mohammed, took control of Hamas forces in Gaza. He was killed in an IDF airstrike in May of this year.

Hamas has previously demanded the transfer of the Sinwar brothers’ remains as a condition for a comprehensive hostage deal – a demand Israel has repeatedly rejected.

The terror group has linked its demand for the handing over of the two leaders’ bodies to clause 5 of the proposed Trump peace plan, under which Israel would be required to release 250 jailed Arab terrorists serving life sentences.

The release would come following the return of all 48 Israeli hostages.

The clause also requires Israel to release about 1,700 Gazans detained since October 7 as well as the remains of 15 slain Gazan terrorists for each deceased hostage returned by Hamas.

Of the 48 hostages still in Gaza, 28 are believed to be dead.