Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar accused of using hostages as shields and carrying bag full of dynamite

Troy de Ruyter
The Nightly
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is considered by many to be the face of evil.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is considered by many to be the face of evil. Credit: The West Australian

He claims to be fighting for a righteous cause — but surely a “hero” doesn’t kidnap hostages and use them as human shields while carrying a bag full of explosives?

Yet this is what evil Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is accused of doing while spouting the ideals of bringing peace to the Palestinian people.

According to witnesses, the 62-year-old surrounded himself with at least 20 hostages while carrying the bag of dynamite as he and his family fled Israel’s soldiers under the Gaza Strip’s labryinth of tunnels.

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Shin Bet agent Kobi Michael said that Sinwar made his getaway with his wife and three children earlier in 2024. Shin Bet is Israel’s internal security service.

Mr Michael claimed that Israeli forces had been presented with the chance of killing Sinwar on several occasions but it would have meant the death of the hostages as well.

Yahya Sinwar makes his escape through a tunnel in Gaza.
Yahya Sinwar makes his escape through a tunnel in Gaza. Credit: IDF

“In that bag is about 25kg of dynamite,” he said. “Around him are at least 20 hostages ... a few times we have had the chance to kill him but if we do, he will kill all the hostages around him.”

Israeli forces have been targeting Hamas leaders since the terrorist organisation crossed the border into Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering about 1200 people and kidnapping around 250 others.

About 97 hostages are believed to still be in Gaza.

The brutality of the attack shocked the world and has led Israel on a year-long retribution that has resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 people, mostly on the Palestinian side.

It has since dragged in Lebanon and Syria as Israel seeks to also take out Hamas ally Hezbollah.

Many millions have lost their homes and been displaced as the whole of the Middle East stands on the precipice of all-out war.

As with most wars, it is a horror with few winners, where the moral high ground quickly becomes clouded.

But what is clear is that the leadership of Hamas, where evil reigns supreme, is not the path ahead.

Sinwar, who is believed to have been one of the brains behind the October 7 attacks — with Israeli Defense Forces Lt Col Richard Hecht labelling him “the face of evil” in its aftermath — and was added to the US list of the most wanted international terrorists in 2015, is unrepentant.

“Yahya Sinwar will never surrender,” Mr Michael said.

“He’s dreaming about staying on as the leader of Hamas in Gaza. He’s thinking now about the next massacre. That man must be killed.”

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is believed to have been one of the brains behind the attack on Israel.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is believed to have been one of the brains behind the attack on Israel. Credit: SOPA Images/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett

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