JNS
The younger brother of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad is considered a major planner of the Oct. 7 mass murder attack.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant entered the Netzarim Corridor in the Gaza Strip for an operational assessment alongside IDF Southern Command head Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman and other senior officers.
Gallant’s visit took place as Israel continued to conduct raids and airstrikes targeting Hamas terrorists across Gaza and as the IDF expanded the Netzarim Corridor to secure troops stationed there, separating northern Gaza from the rest of the Strip.
Addressing reserve soldiers on their third deployment since the beginning of the war, Gallant reiterated Israel’s determination to hunt down Hamas leaders, particularly the Sinwar brothers.
“We will continue to press and strike Hamas, wear them down, and eliminate them. We will reach Mohammed Sinwar and Yahya Sinwar. These accursed terrorists will be caught. Anyone who thinks otherwise should look at [Hamas’s No. 3, who was killed in an airstrike on central Gaza in March] Marwan Issa and Mohammed Deif [Hamas’s military-terror chief, killed in a strike on southern Gaza in July]. They, too, thought they were invincible. They made their mistake, and they are not with us today. He will make the same mistake, and we will complete our mission,” said Gallant.
The Sinwar brothers have become the symbol of what is left of Hamas’s military-terror leadership in Gaza, with Yahya Sinwar also becoming the head of the Hamas political bureau, following the July 31 targeted killing of Ismael Haniyeh in Tehran.
Yahya’s younger brother Mohammed Sinwar plays a crucial role in Hamas's military infrastructure; whether he has replaced Deif is so far unclear.
Col. (res.) Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, noted that Mohammed Sinwar has grown in prominence in Hamas alongside his brother.
Born in 1975 in Khan Yunis, Mohammed Sinwar grew up in meager surroundings, Milshtein said. Mohammed Sinwar had spent time in an Israeli prison together with his brother, and after Mohammed’s release, he served as his brother’s representative to Hamas’s "military" and political leadership in Gaza, while his brother Yahya directed terror attacks from prison. Mohammed Sinwar also served time in a Palestinian Authority jail between 1996 and 1999, Milshtein said.
“His big professional ‘leap’ was made during the Second Intifada, when he was appointed commander of the 'military' branch in Khan Yunis, and later, [Hamas’s] Khan Yunis Brigade commander. He draws a lot of power from his closeness to Yahya but also received his status independently,” said Milshtein. His public image is accompanied by “shadows, mainly due to rumors of his involvement in the sexual harassment of children,” Milshtein added.
Milshtein does not believe Mohammed Sinwar will solely replace Deif as Hamas’s military leader, despite his high-profile terrorist role, but could fill the vacuum together with “someone like Az Aldin Haddad, commander of Gaza City, or Raed Saad, one of the top commanders who may have been killed in April.”
Either way, Mohammed remains an important figure within Hamas’s ranks, and he could currently be commanding southern Gaza (south of Netzarim Corridor), Milshtein assessed.
Milshtein said that Mohammed Sinwar played a central role in preparing for the Oct. 7 mass murder attack, overseeing the tunnel systems (where he appeared in a video driving a vehicle), logistics, infrastructure, recruitment and war planning.
“It seems, and I say this cautiously, that he is part of the inner circle that Yahya relies upon to formulate strategy and manage the war, as well as control over Gaza. He of course earns great trust from his brother,” Milshtein stated.
Michael Barak, senior researcher and head of the Global Jihad Research Program at the International Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University in Herzliya, noted that Mohammed Sinwar is a highly secretive figure but also a very important commander in Hamas’s "military" wing.
"He’s one of the most prominent candidates to succeed Deif, due to his rich military experience and successes that he delivered for the organization like many terror attacks against Israelis. He's the planning brain behind the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, and particularly because he is the brother of Yahya Sinwar,” Barak said.
Barak noted that Mohammed Sinwar acquired his basic education at UNRWA-affiliated schools. His early involvement in Hamas came through his elder brother Yahya, who influenced him to join the terror movement shortly after its founding in December 1987.
Mohammed’s terrorist leadership trajectory began when he joined the al-Qassam Brigades and rose through the ranks, assuming command of the Khan Yunis Brigade in 2005, said Barak, adding that around this time he began to get close to Hamas "military" leaders, including Deif and his deputy Issa. He was then appointed commander of special missions and logistics and was one of the initiators of using attack tunnels against IDF positions during the Second Intifada.
Barak said that Mohammed Sinwar survived six assassination attempts by Israel, which made him retreat from public view. “Thus, for example, after an assassination attempt in 2003 he vanished, and did not take a public role in his father’s funeral, who died aged 90 on January 12, 2022. His public statements were rare—only twice made,” said Barak.
This includes a recording released by Hamas after Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, and again in 2022, following "Operation Guardian of the Walls" the previous year.
“Israel views Mohammed Sinwar as one of the planners of the October 7 massacre,” Barak said.
