Report: Sinwar’s widow fled Gaza, remarried in Turkey

As Gaza suffers, reports say Hamas leaders’ families escaped early in the war with forged passports and cash, fueling outrage among residents.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

As the war in Gaza rages on, reports that the families of top Hamas officials fled the Strip in the early days of the conflict are sparking growing outrage among Gazan residents, who feel abandoned by the very leaders who led them into war.

Local sources told Ynet that Samar Abu Zamer, the widow of senior Hamas commander and October 7’s main architect, Yahya Sinwar, escaped Gaza through the Rafah crossing using a forged passport.

She is reportedly now living in Turkey and has since remarried—an arrangement said to have been facilitated by Hamas political bureau member Fathi Hammad.

Abu Zamer previously drew criticism after appearing in footage carrying a luxury Hermès Birkin handbag, reportedly worth approximately $32,000, while sheltering in a Hamas tunnel.

“She’s no longer here,” said a source familiar with the escape. 

“She left with high-level coordination, logistical support, and large sums of money that regular Gazans don’t have.”

In January, the IDF released a video showing Abu Zamer entering a tunnel with her children, leading many to believe she had gone into hiding underground.

But subsequent accounts suggested she had, in fact, exited Gaza entirely.

Attention has also turned to Najwa Sinwar, wife of Muhammad Sinwar—brother of Yahya—who was also killed by Israeli forces.

Her whereabouts remain unknown, but Israeli sources say she too left Gaza with her children prior to her husband’s death.

Both women reportedly crossed into Egypt via Rafah, aided by forged documents and Hamas’s longstanding smuggling networks.

According to regional analysts, Hamas has spent years developing systems to covertly move its officials and their families, including fake passports, forged medical records, and quiet coordination with foreign embassies.

For many Gazans enduring daily bombardments, displacement, and worsening food shortages, the reports underscore what they see as a stark double standard.

“They send their kids to study in Turkey and Qatar—and send ours to the grave,” said one young man in central Gaza. “They’re no better than the corrupt rulers we protested against in the past.”

One exception, however, stood out: Umm Khaled, wife of Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, appeared in a recent video from a modest home, insisting she remained in Gaza with her children.

“There are four mattresses and a mat in our house. That’s how it was before the war, and after,” she said. “I’m not fleeing. I’m here with my people.”

The video was seen by some as a staged effort to counter growing perceptions of elite flight.

Others viewed it as a rare gesture of solidarity. “At least one of them stayed,” a local woman said.

As Israel’s offensive continues and the humanitarian toll rises, Gazans are increasingly questioning the decisions that Hamas’s leadership has made.

“Did we carry the burden for the sake of resistance,” one man asked, “or so they could live in five-star hotels in Doha and Istanbul?”