JERUSALEM – Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, his younger brother, Muhammed, and two other senior military commanders of the Iranian-backed Islamist terror group – Rafa’a Salameh and Mohammad Deif – are considered to be the worst killers from the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
All are now the most wanted terrorists by Israel.
As the IDF gears up for what could be its fiercest battle yet against Hamas, the army dropped leaflets over Gaza’s second most populous city on Thursday, calling on residents of the Hamas stronghold to share any information about the whereabouts of the four men and offering a substantial financial reward – some $1 million in total – for anyone brave enough to come forward.
All four terrorists were born and raised in Khan Younis, a city about two miles east of the Mediterranean Sea, and Sinwar, who already has the nickname “the Butcher of Khan Younis,” for his violent and cruel torture methods against his enemies, both Israeli and Palestinian, is widely seen as the mastermind of the massacre of Israeli civilians carried out by thousands of Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, sparking the current war.
ISRAEL’S HUNT FOR HAMAS TERROR GROUP LEADER YAHYA SINWAR: ‘DEAD MAN WALKING’
Israeli political and military leaders have referred to Sinwar as a “dead man walking.”
So, who are the four men Israel is willing to dole out a million dollars for?
Wanted: Yahya Sinwar
Position: Hamas leader in Gaza
Bounty: $400,000
Recently described as ‘a dead man walking,’ Yahya Sinwar, who turned 61 at the end of October, was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp when the region was part of Egypt. According to multiple sources, he has always been a militant activist and joined Hamas not long after its founding in 1987. Two years later, he was arrested by Israel for his involvement in the abduction and killing of two Israelis, as well as the torturing and murder of four Palestinians he considered to be collaborators. He was sentenced to life in prison and ended up serving 22 years in an Israeli jail until his release in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange for the abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
During his time in jail, Sinwar became a prominent and influential figure among the other Hamas prisoners and learned to speak fluent Hebrew. He has a deep understanding of Israeli society, those who have met and studied him say, pointing out that he is both charismatic and extreme, with strong ideological and religious beliefs. He is not afraid to die or sacrifice himself for the Palestinian cause and truly believes that he can lead the Palestinian people to destroy Israel.
