Yahya Sinwar's brother, Muhammad Sinwar, leads Hamas - WSJ

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the new leader of the Hamas movement has been appointed as Muhammad Sinwar. He is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024. According to the WSJ, the Hamas leadership in Doha has decided to jointly lead the movement.

Muhammad Sinwar is at the center of Hamas's resurgence in the Gaza Strip, focusing heavily on recruiting new members. Muhammad, 50, like his brother Yahya, joined Hamas at a young age and was active in the movement's armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He was closely associated with the armed wing's leader, Muhammad Deif, although Deif was also eliminated in 2024.

The newspaper reported that it calls Muhammad Sinwar “Shadow,” which is because he works more behind the scenes. As the WSJ notes, he has never spent long periods in Israeli prisons, so intelligence has less information about his identity.

Israeli intelligence and the military (IDF) believe that Muhammad Sinwar is involved in the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. His brother, Yahya, was released in a prisoner exchange for the same incident. "We are making every effort to find him," an IDF source said.

It is not yet clear what changes the appointment of new Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar will bring to the movement's future strategy, but it is clear that his departure poses new challenges for Israel.