Sat 11 October 2025:

Israeli Army Radio, citing a security source, reported that Israel will not hand over the bodies of Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas’s Political Bureau and mastermind of the 7 October cross- border attack, and his brother Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas leader, as part of the current agreement.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem accused Israel of attempting to manipulate the agreed timelines, lists, and steps in the deal. He said Israel continues to evade commitments on key issues including withdrawal, the release of prisoners, and the return of displaced persons.

“Israel must abide by what was agreed upon, and we call on the mediators to put pressure on it,” Qassem stated. He added that, according to mediators, the agreement represents the beginning of an end to “the war of extermination in the Gaza Strip.”

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The spokesman emphasized that all Israeli prisoners—living and deceased—are to be handed over during the first phase of the agreement.

Separately, Haaretz quoted a political source as saying that the Israeli army would complete the initial stage of a partial withdrawal within 24 hours of the agreement’s implementation. According to the report, this withdrawal would precede the release of living captives.

The newspaper added that following the partial withdrawal, the United States is expected to issue a statement confirming that the procedures have been carried out. The return of Israeli living captives is anticipated within 72 hours after the completion of this first stage.

Who was Yahya Sinwar

Born in 1962 in a refugee camp Khan Younis, Sinwar is often portrayed as one of the most uncompromising top Hamas officials. He was arrested by Israel repeatedly in the early 1980s for his involvement in anti-occupation activism at the Islamic University in Gaza.

After his graduation, he helped establish a network of fighters to take up armed resistance against Israel. The group would later become the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

Sinwar joined Hamas as one of its leaders almost as soon as the group was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1987. The following year, he was arrested by the Israeli forces and handed four life sentences — the equivalent of 426 years in jail — for alleged involvement in the capture and killing of two Israeli soldiers and four suspected Palestinian spies.

While incarcerated, Sinwar penned a novel about the Palestinian struggle, believed to be partly autobiographical, entitled The Thorn and the Carnation.

He spent 23 years in Israeli jail where he learned Hebrew and became well-versed in Israeli affairs and domestic politics. He was freed in 2011 as part of the prisoner exchange deal that saw the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been captured by Hamas.

After his release, Sinwar quickly rose through Hamas’s ranks again. In 2012, he was elected to the group’s political bureau and was tasked with coordinating with the Qassam Brigades.

He played a leading political and military role during Israel’s seven-week offensive against Gaza in 2014. The next year, the United States labelled Sinwar as a “specially designated global terrorist”.

In 2017, Sinwar became Hamas’s chief in Gaza, succeeding Haniyeh, who was elected as the chair of the group’s political bureau.

Unlike Haniyeh, who had travelled regionally and delivered speeches throughout the war on Gaza until his assassination, Sinwar had been tight-lipped since October 7, 2023.

International Criminal Court prosecutors have sought an arrest warrant for him along with Haniyeh, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yaov Gallant over alleged war crimes in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In a 2021 interview with Vice News, Sinwar said that, while Palestinians do not seek war due to its high cost, they will not “wave the white flag”.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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