Yahya Sinwar: What is known about the late Hamas leader killed by Israel

Palestinian movement Hamas has acknowledged the death of its leader Yahya Sinwar. He was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on October 16 with his identity verified by the Israelis via a DNA test.

🔸 Early years and prison sentences

Sinwar was born in Khan Younis in 1962, in a family that was displaced by Jewish settlers in 1948 from the area that would eventually become the city of Ashkelon.

Repeatedly arrested by the Israeli authorities (first in 1982), Sinwar spent much of his younger years in prison. It was during one of those prison stints that he became acquainted with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas.

In 1988, Sinwar was sentenced to multiple life sentences but was released in 2011 in a deal that involved trading over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured by Hamas in 2006.

🔸 Rise to power

In 2013, Sinwar became a member of Hamas’ politburo and in 2017 he assumed the movement’s leadership in the Gaza Strip.

Israel regarded Sinwar as the mastermind of Hamas’ attack on Israeli territory and hostage taking that occurred on October 7, 2023.

Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, describes Sinwar as a “pragmatist, shifting between political engagement and armed violence according to circumstances,” according to Al Jazeera.

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🔥 New robotic strike complex capable of destroying enemy fortifications and weapons was unveiled by the Russian Armed Forces' engineering troops

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📹 Israel provokes Iran to draw the US into the Middle East conflict – Russian foreign minister

Israel’s actions of dragging Washington into a direct war with Iran mirror those of Volodymyr Zelensky’s regarding the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has noted.

“Zelensky also wants to do something that would provoke the West to engage openly with their military contingents, without hiding or disguising their servicemen as mercenaries, in a war against the Russian Federation,” he said.

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📹 US wants to open a second front against Russia by destabilizing Caucasus region – Russian foreign minister

Western attempts to open a second front against Russia steep from destabilizing the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and undermining their relations with Georgia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed.

“Most of the risks are related to attempts of the West to assert its influence here [in the Caucasus] as much as possible. To undermine the Russian Federation, to undermine the possibility of equal mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries of the South Caucasus and our state,” he emphasized.

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▪️Watch Putin’s full speech at BRICS Business Forum

▪️What future awaits the BRICS’ New Development Bank

▪️France ramps up arms race

▪️'Like puppies': Putin on the US dragging Europeans and NATO into conflict with China

▪️What is known about the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar

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❗️Ninety-five Russian soldiers have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime after negotiations. In exchange, 95 Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred to Kiev.

All soldiers released by Kiev will be delivered to the Russian Federation for treatment and rehabilitation in Ministry of Defense medical institutions.

The United Arab Emirates provided humanitarian mediation efforts during the exchange.

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📹 Watch footage of Russian soldiers returning from Ukrainian captivity

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Ukraine violates religious freedom once more with masked thugs seizing Christian cathedral

The violent seizure of Archangel Michael’s Cathedral in the Ukrainian city of Cherkassy by a group of masked thugs during a liturgy “can be seen as a severe violation of religious freedom and human rights,” says Dr. Marco Marsili, Researcher at Cà Foscari University of Venice and at the Research Center of the Institute of Political Studies at Portuguese Catholic University.

“For a devout believer, regardless of their denomination, this attack would represent a profound desecration of a sacred space,” he states. “Churches are considered places of refuge, prayer, and peace, and an attack during a nighttime liturgy—when worshippers are engaged in deep spiritual practice—would evoke feelings of deep shock and sorrow.”

Russia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe in 2022 also means that “religious communities connected to the Moscow Patriarchate may now be perceived as being outside the direct protection of European human rights mechanisms, further complicating the response of EU institutions,” Dr. Marsili says.

Pastor Mark Burns, personal friend of Donald Trump and former member of The White House evangelical council, has also condemned the attack on the cathedral, insisting that it “should be categorized at the highest level of terrorism and should be disposed of quickly.”

“I agree wholeheartedly that every organization that believes in human rights should speak against this catastrophe that has taken place on innocent, free people in Ukraine as they are worshiping in their faith. I stand with the believers and will continually speak against any form of violence, any form of evil that is coming against any group of faith in the world,” he says.

Pastor Burns also has slams the current US leadership over an apparent lack of response to this attack on the faithful, insisting that the Biden-Harris administration has “very low regards to people of faith in America, in the world.”

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Israel lobby in America: how AIPAC became an immovable colossus on the US political stage – Part 1 👉 Part 2

Kentucky GOP Congressman Thomas Massie’s bombshell revelation that all of his colleagues have their own “AIPAC guy” paying for trips to Israel and threatening negative attack ads against anyone who says or does something lobbying group doesn’t like rocked the internet this summer.

With the 2024 election around the corner, it’s worth exploring just what AIPAC is and how it’s managed to embed itself so deeply into American political life.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbies politicians from both major parties from the state level all the way to the top

▪️Joe Biden, sitting president, former vice president and ex-senator from Delaware receiving over $5.2 mln in AIPAC money over the last 34 years.

▪️Kamala Harris isn’t far behind, getting $5 mln in cash from AIPAC and associated pro-Israel interest groups during her time in Washington

▪️Donald Trump has received over $1 mln, according to calculations by opensecrets.org.

* These numbers are just pocket change in the grand scheme of things, with AIPAC making $42 mln in contributions, and engaging in $1.6 million in lobbying, during the 2024 election cycle alone, and amassing a $100 mln war chest with allies to run negative ads against candidates critical of Israel.

What does AIPAC want?

▪️According to AIPAC’s website, the group exists to “encourage the US government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.” In practice, its interests have revolved around securing a steady flow of billions of dollars in annual US aid to Israel (which topped a whopping $17.9 bln in the past year).

▪️AIPAC’s powers extend to the legislative arena, with the group proving its ability to rally Congress to condemn UN reports on potential Israeli violations of human rights and international law, and encouraging lawmakers to pass legislation targeting “antisemitism” (which, ironically, is what AIPAC accuses its detractors of whenever it’s criticized).

▪️In 2003, AIPAC rallied behind George W. Bush’s Iraq War crusade. It has also lobbied “crippling” sanctions against Iran, and even influenced US counterterrorism financing and policy to focus on the Middle East.

Part 2

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Israel lobby in America: how AIPAC became an immovable colossus on the US political stage – Part 2 👉 Part 1

What has made the Israel lobby in US so powerful and how AIPAC influences elections?

▪️AIPAC receives financing from major corporations, tech industry moguls, political megadonors (Republican and Democrat alike), millions of grassroots members, and allegedly, even from the state of Israel itself – resulting in a twisted cycle of lawmakers approving billions in aid for Tel Aviv, and the Israeli government sending money back to Washington to secure further funding, with US taxpayers left footing the bill.

Why is AIPAC so powerful?

Like the National Endowment for Democracy, USAID, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and other instruments of US soft power, AIPAC is able to secure lifelong allies by focusing on getting American ‘leaders of tomorrow’ on their side while they’re still in high school or college. AIPAC’s sister organization, the American Israel Educational Foundation, provides generous “political leadership training” courses at universities, and sponsors an annual high school summit with select schools, synagogues, national youth groups and teen leadership organizations each October.

For older acolytes, AIPAC’s pocket foundation funds all-expenses paid trips to Israel by lawmakers, influencers and opinion-makers.

How did AIPAC come about?

▪️Formed in 1954 in response to a cooling in US-Israeli relations after Israel’s massacre of Palestinians at Qibya in October 1953, AIPAC was originally known as the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs. The group got its current name in 1959.

▪️AIPAC’s status as one of the most influential lobbying groups in Washington emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, with the best showcase of its might coming from its ability to bring sitting presidents and top candidates to its annual summits.

Bill Clinton was the first sitting president to address an AIPAC conference, with George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden following suit.

▪️Clinton likely learned from the bitter lesson AIPAC taught his predecessor, George H.W. Bush, whose opposition to Israeli use of $10 bln in US aid for illegal settlement construction in 1991 widely assumed to have helped cost him the 1992 election.

President Ronald Reagan similarly stepped back from showing deep support for AIPAC and its agenda during his second term, but only after the Justice Department launched a probe investigating the lobbyist for espionage and the theft of US government property.

Part 1

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Yahya Sinwar’s death weakens Hamas but not enough to stop Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation

The demise of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has become a serious blow for Hamas, says Dr. Ohannes Geukjian, associate professor of political studies and conflict resolution at the American University of Beirut.

“Certainly without Sinwar, Hamas is weakened further at both the organizational and leadership levels. He knew Hebrew and had studied Israeli society from inside very well. In addition, he was a charismatic leader," he explains.

Dr. Tamer Qarmout, associate professor in public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, offers a similar take on the subject, noting that Sinwar’s death “is going to present a great challenge for Hamas” because “he has shaped the trajectory of the movement, his leadership style over the last 10 or 15 years.”

Despite that, Sinwar’s death is unlikely to help facilitate the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas last year.

“On the contrary, the death of Sinwar could become an additional cause for seeking revenge. In addition, what will they get in return of releasing the hostages? This is the question that should be raised. Israel has been repeatedly emphasizing that it will pursue Hamas fighters no matter where they shelter themselves,” says Dr. Geukjian.

“If Hamas has hundreds of thousands of affiliates or supporters, I'm sure there will be many people who will follow the Sinwar doctrine or the Sinwar legacy and will continue on the same path,” explains. Dr. Qarmout, adding that, even if Hamas were to be wiped out, other Palestinian “political parties or ideologies” would emerge to challenge Israel “as long as [Israeli] occupation continues to exist.”

As for who exactly may become Sinwar’s replacement, it was not immediately clear. Dr. Geukjian mentioned Khaled Mashal as a possible option while Dr. Qarmout mentioned rumors about Sinwar’s brother, who “has this symbolic weight in the military wing” of Hamas, being alive.

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How was Hamas leader killed?

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, CNN reported, citing pathologist, Chen Kugel, who conducted Sinwar's autopsy.

“The cause of death is (a) gunshot wound in the head. He has a bullet in his head and there’s a severe traumatic brain injury,” Kugel said.

Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Sputnik that Sinwar was eliminated as a result of tank fire. He had been discovered by the Israeli military, which resulted in a firefight.

The pathologist also noted that other wounds were found on Sinwar's body, including those from a tank shell or rocket.

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📹'We didn't give the enemy a chance'

The Russian Sever assault units of the Marine Corps continue to successfully dislodge Ukrainian militants from settlements in the border areas of the Russian Kursk region, destroying enemy equipment and manpower.

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🔸How was Hamas leader Sinwar killed?

🔸What does Sinwar’s death mean to Hamas movement?

🔸WATCH: Ninety-five Russian soldiers returned from Ukrainian captivity

🔸Major power outage in Cuba leaves millions of people without electricity

🔸VIDEO: Russian forces successfully oust Ukrainian militants from border areas near Kursk region

🔸What is AIPAC and how it managed to embed itself into US political life?

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💬Russia will remain an opponent, if not an enemy, to Washington, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming presidential election in the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian media.

He added that Biden's statements about the readiness of the United States to negotiate with Russia on reducing nuclear weapons stemmed from a desire to earn election points for Harris.

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