Israeli officials believe Yahya Sinwar's brother Mohammed will replace him - report

Security officials believe that Mohammad Sinwar will be appointed as the new Hamas leader, while Khalil al-Hayya, Yahya Sinwar's deputy, will take on political responsibilities. 

Mohammad Sinwar, the younger brother of the notorious terrorist Yahya Sinwar, was born in 1975 in the Khan Yunis refugee camp. His family fled a village near Ashkelon in 1948, settling in the southern Gaza Strip. Fueled by deep-seated hatred towards Israel, the Sinwar brothers became deeply involved in subversive activities against Israel, reaching their peak with the horrific October 7 attacks on southern Israel and the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War. 

Mohammad Sinwar's familial ties to his older brother, Yahya Sinwar, cemented his status within both Israel's security apparatus and the terror organization. 

"From the beginning of his career in Hamas, Mohammad worked alongside senior commanders, breathing and living pure terrorism," a senior security official who has tracked Mohammad Sinwar since his youth said. 

"Initially, he gained influence because of his family ties, but it didn’t take long for his operational abilities, cruelty, interpersonal skills, and understanding of military strategy to be recognized," he added.

"Working with senior leaders, along with the fact that his brother was imprisoned in Israel, sharpened his central goal: to carry out kidnappings that would lead to his brother's release, as well as other security prisoners, rather than attacks aimed solely at killing."

Who is Mohammad Sinwar?

A former security official familiar with Gaza's intelligence landscape during those years mentioned that while it was not widely publicized, more targeted killings were attempted against Mohammad Sinwar than any other senior Hamas figure before the war began. 

"Mohammad Sinwar was not only pivotal in the military development of Hamas, evolving from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades to the military wing and eventually a full-fledged army, but he also played a leading and influential role in several phases of the process. It's no coincidence that his house has been destroyed several times in the past two decades. The operations to eliminate him were almost fantastical in scope, but they failed," the former security official explained.

Mohammad Sinwar was one of the masterminds behind the 2006 kidnapping of Gilad Shalit while his brother Yahya Sinwar was imprisoned in Israel. Senior Hamas leaders and top officials in Israel's security establishment were well aware that Yahya Sinwar would be released in the Shalit deal, largely due to Mohammad Sinwar's involvement in the operation.