It was a hard blow for Hamas when Israel killed Yahya Sinwar last autumn. But under Sinwar's younger brother's command, new fighters are now being recruited at a rapid pace, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The Islamist movement has indeed weakened during 15 months of war. But the violence has also created a new generation of willing recruits, while the Gaza Strip is littered with undetonated Israeli artillery that can be rebuilt into improvised bombs. Israel has repeatedly returned to areas it previously claimed to have "cleansed" of jihadists – only for resistance to flare up again.
"Hamas fighters 'go underground' during Israeli attacks and quickly regain control when Israeli forces leave", wrote Hugh Lovatt at the think tank ECFR in a study in December.
"The Shadow"
Lovatt also pointed out Mohammed Sinwar as an increasingly important player in the "guerrilla warfare" that Hamas is now heavily reliant on.
Little brother Sinwar is estimated to be in his 50s and is said to have been close to his brother and the former military leader Mohammed Dayf. The Sinwar brothers both joined Hamas at a young age, but the younger brother has kept a lower profile and thus earned the nickname "The Shadow".
According to Israel, around 17,000 Hamas members have been killed and thousands more arrested during the war. Israel's definition of "member" is, however, broad – it includes almost anyone with any kind of role within Gaza's Hamas-led government.
4,000 in a month
Hamas itself claims to have lost 6,000-7,000 members from both the movement's military and civilian branches. But in recent months, it is believed to have recruited thousands of new men under Sinwar's leadership – recruits driven by anger and a desire for revenge after the relentless Israeli bombardment that has laid the Gaza Strip in ruins.
Around 4,000 men are estimated to have joined the movement just last month, said the Israeli researcher Yoni Ben Menachem to the newspaper El País last week.
"Hamas is in a very strong position to dictate the terms", Mohammed Sinwar is said to have written in a message to the movement's representatives in the ceasefire talks, according to The Wall Street Journal's sources.
Hamas leaders are being replenished faster than Israel can kill them, says Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli brigadier general, in the newspaper.
And Mohammed Sinwar is the one who controls everything.
Mia Holmberg Karlsson/TT
Facts: Hamas
TT
In 2006, the Islamist and terrorist-listed movement Hamas won over the secular al-Fatah in a parliamentary election in the Gaza Strip. Hamas wanted to form a broad coalition with al-Fatah and other parties, but when these refused, Hamas formed its own government and established its own security force in Gaza.
Soon, bloody clashes broke out between supporters of Hamas and al-Fatah. Attempts to reach an agreement failed, and in 2007, Hamas expelled al-Fatah from Gaza and took over administration and police activities.
Since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip, Israel has maintained a blockade against the area. Egypt has also treated Gaza restrictively.
Militant Palestinian groups and Israel have fought several devastating wars since then. The latest one began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched a massive attack across the border, killing over 1,100 people.
Source: Landguiden/UI, Nationalencyklopedin
