Jerusalem: Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar is reportedly alive and has discreetly established contact with Qatar, according to a report by Israeli media outlet The Jerusalem Post on Monday. This comes days after it was reported that Israel was investigating whether Sinwar had been killed in an Israeli rocket strike on a school in Gaza City that was sheltering displaced Palestinians.
However, a senior Qatari diplomat denied claims of direct contact with Sinwar, according to an exclusive statement to The Jerusalem Post. The diplomat clarified that communication had instead been made through Khalil al-Hayah, a senior figure in Hamas.
The report also noted that Qatari officials previously believed Sinwar had surrounded himself with hostages before going silent. Sinwar was presumed dead after the September 21 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza because he had not been in contact with official channels for an extended period.
Also Read | One Year of Gaza War | War Brews Where Chaos Reigns, and Peace Thrives Where Humanity Prevails
The Israeli military confirmed that the airstrike targeted a Hamas command center, while Palestinian health authorities reported that women and children were among the 22 casualties in the attack.
On September 22, The Times of Israel reported that Israeli officials were investigating the possibility of Sinwar’s death, citing intelligence sources and journalist Ben Caspit.
Also Read | Tampa Prepares for Major Storm Surge as Hurricane Milton Nears Landfall
Yahya Sinwar, widely considered the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks on Israel, became the leader of Hamas in August following the assassination of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, in a bombing in Iran.
Born in 1962, Sinwar was an early member of Hamas, which was founded in 1987. He led the militant group’s internal security arm, responsible for eliminating Israeli spies within the organization. Sinwar was arrested by Israel in the late 1980s and admitted to killing 12 suspected collaborators, earning him the nickname “The Butcher of Khan Younis.” He was sentenced to four life terms for his crimes, which included the killing of two Israeli soldiers.
