BEIRUT (AP) — Yahya Sinwar planned and organized an attack against Israel that shook the world and unleashed an ever-growing catastrophe with no end in sight.
In Gaza, no figure was more important in determining the course of the war than that of the 61-year-old Hamas leader. Obsessive, disciplined, and dictatorial, he was a rarely seen veteran military leader who learned Hebrew during the years he spent in Israeli prisons and carefully studied his enemy.
On Thursday, Israel reported that its troops had killed Sinwar in Gaza. So far, Hamas has not commented on his death.
The reserved figure, feared on both sides of the battle line, organized the surprise attack on October 7, 2023, in southern Israel, along with the even more enigmatic Mohammed Deif, leader of Hamas' armed wing. Israel claimed to have eliminated Deif in an attack carried out in July in southern Gaza, in which more than 70 Palestinians were killed.
Shortly after, Hamas leader in exile, Ismail Haniyeh, died in an explosion while visiting Iran, an act for which Israel was blamed. Sinwar was elected to take his place as the top leader of Hamas, although he was in hiding in Gaza.
The Palestinian militants who carried out the October 2023 attack mainly targeted civilians, catching the Israeli army and intelligence agencies off guard and shaking the image of Israel's invincibility.
The reprisals taken by Israel were overwhelming. In the conflict, more than 42,000 people have died, the coastal region has been practically destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom are on the brink of famine, have been left homeless.
Sinwar held indirect negotiations with Israel to try to end the war. One of his objectives was to obtain the release of thousands of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails, something very similar to the agreement that led to his own release over a decade ago.
He worked to bring Hamas closer to Iran and its other allies in the region. The war he started involved Hezbollah, which ultimately led to another Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and caused Iran and Israel to exchange fire directly for the first time, raising fears of an even more expansive conflict.
For the Israelis, Sinwar was a nightmare. The chief spokesperson for the Israeli army, Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari, said he was a killer "who showed the world that Hamas is worse than ISIS," referring to the Islamic State group.
Always defiant, Sinwar concluded one of his few public speeches by inviting Israel to assassinate him, proclaiming in Gaza that he would "return home after this meeting." And he did, greeting and taking selfies with people on the streets.
Among the Palestinians, he was respected for standing up to Israel and staying in impoverished Gaza, unlike other Hamas leaders who lived comfortably abroad.
But he was also greatly feared for his iron fist in Gaza, where public dissent is prohibited.