الكاتب: kafej

Israel claims to have the leader of Hamas holed up in his Gaza City bunker.

Yahya Sinwar has led Hamas since 2017, having joined its ranks in the early 1980s.

Believed to be the architect of the 7 October attacks, he is Israel’s most wanted – a “dead man walking”, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claims to have him “surrounded and isolated”.

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He has spent more than 20 years in prison for killing both Israelis and fellow Palestinians suspected of collaborating with the other side.

The 61-year-old’s nicknames include “the face of evil”, “butcher of Khan Younis”, and “man of 12” – in reference to 12 suspected informers he is believed to have killed.

Granted fatwa by Hamas founder to kill collaborators

Sinwar was born in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in 1962.

He studied Arabic at the Islamic University of Gaza, which was founded in 1978 by the two men who went on to set up Hamas almost a decade later.

There he became particularly close to one of them, the cleric Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

Yassin and Mahmoud al-Zahar co-founded Hamas in 1987 as a Gaza-based political splinter group of the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to Israeli reports, Sinwar said Yassin granted him a fatwa (a ruling in Islamic law) to kill anyone suspected of collaborating with the Israelis.

He was first arrested for subversive activities in 1982. In prison, he met other key members of Hamas, including Salah Shehade, the former leader of its military wing the Qassam Brigades.

After being arrested and imprisoned again in 1985, he was put in charge of Hamas’s internal security branch, the Majd Force, which sought out and killed suspected Israeli spies.

Dr Ahron Bregman, a former Israeli army major – and now senior teaching fellow in war studies and the Arab-Israeli conflict at King’s College London, said: “The Israelis tried for many years to recruit him as a collaborator himself, offering him massive incentives.

“But it never worked with Sinwar. In fact he became notorious for killing Palestinians suspected of collaborating.”

Learnt fluent Hebrew in prison

In 1988 he helped abduct and kill two Israeli Defence Force soldiers, which saw him sentenced to 22 years in an Israeli prison.

Despite being incarcerated, Sinwar used the time to his advantage – learning fluent Hebrew to better understand his enemy and ascending to become leader of Hamas prisoners in Israel.

Dr Bregman says: “He would read Israeli newspapers on a daily basis. He understood them way better than they understood him – hence his ability to deceive them and catch them off guard by executing his military operation so effectively in October 2023.”

Fifteen years into his prison sentence, he went on Israeli television and spoke in Hebrew, calling for a truce with Hamas.

He was released in 2011 as part of the swap of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for just one hostage Israeli soldier – Gilad Shalit.

Commenting on his imprisonment afterwards, Sinwar said: “They wanted the prison to be a grave for us. A mill to grind our will, determination and bodies.

“But thank God, with our belief in our cause we turned the prison into sanctuaries of worship and academies for study.”

Forced suspected informer to bury his own brother

Back in Gaza he continued to increase his influence among Hamas’s highest ranks.

He remained committed to his original task of unmasking and killing traitors – both Israeli collaborators and members of rival militant groups.

A former member of Israeli intelligence told the Financial Times that he once boasted about forcing a Hamas member suspected of informing for a competing faction to “bury his own brother alive… handing him a spoon to finish the job”.

In 2015 he is thought to have been involved in the torture and killing of fellow Hamas commander Mahmoud Ishtiwi.

He was accused of embezzlement and “moral crimes”, including alleged homosexual activity, with Sinwar thought to have orchestrated his murder over fears he could compromise the group.

Commenting on how he killed another collaborator, he told how he and a group of others blindfolded Ishitiwi and drove him to a makeshift grave, before strangling him with a kaffiyeh (Arabic male headdress) and burying him there.

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‘Mythical figure’ in Palestinian history

The same year he is thought to have killed Ishtiwi, he was designated a terrorist by the US government.

He replaced Ismail Haniyeh as Hamas leader in early 2017 and was re-elected in 2021, later surviving an assassination attempt.

As leader he has increased the group’s use of force, stepping up protests and rocket fire at the Israeli border.

With his military background, he is seen as someone capable of uniting Hamas’s armed and political wings.

Dr Bregman describes him as a “man of few words” and a “natural leader… charismatic, secretive and manipulative”.

“He will be remembered as the architect of the 7 October attacks and the person who inflicted on the Israelis their most terrible disaster since the establishment of their state in 1948,” he adds.

Although his methods have been “barbaric”, Dr Bregman believes it will be seen, “from a Palestinian point of view, in spite of the terrible price they are paying now, as a great victory”.

“Sinwar has earned a place in the pantheon of great Palestinian leaders,” he adds.

Testimonies from people on the ground in Gaza, however, suggest his violent methods have left many of them disillusioned with Hamas.

With Israel’s promise to destroy Hamas and all of its leaders, Dr Bregman believes they will “get him in the end”.

But before then he could be offered safe passage to another country as part of political deal, as former Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat was to Tunisia in 1982.

“Whatever his fate, there is no doubt Sinwar will go down in Palestinian history as a mythical figure,” Dr Bregan says.

Israel has agreed to four-hour humanitarian pauses in fighting every day – allowing Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate, the White House has said.

Despite the US announcement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested any pauses would not be across the whole territory, and there was no official confirmation of a plan for recurring breaks.

An Israeli Defence Force spokesperson told Sky News there was no significant change on the ground.

President Biden later tweeted that there would be: “Two humanitarian passages that will allow people to flee hostile areas in Gaza.

“Let me be clear,” he added, “Israel makes its own decisions.

“They are fighting an enemy embedded in the civilian population, which places innocent Palestinian people at risk.

“They have an obligation to distinguish between terrorists and civilians and fully comply with international law.”

Fighting between Israel and Hamas has intensified in the north and in Gaza City – forcing thousands to flee to the south.

Joe Biden has been pushing for a multi-day stoppage, in the hope this could lead to hostages being released.

The US president said there is “no possibility” of a formal ceasefire at the moment – and expressed frustration that it had taken so long for the humanitarian pauses to be enforced.

Under the agreement, Israel would announce each four-hour window at least three hours in advance.

ActionAid has warned this is not enough – and only a permanent ceasefire will help the people of Gaza.

Riham Jafari, a coordinator for the international charity, said: “Today’s announcement offers precious little to the two million people in Gaza – displaced, injured and traumatised – who have faced a month of relentless bombardment and seen critical infrastructure all but destroyed.

“What use is a four-hour pause each day to hand communities bread in the morning before they are bombed in the afternoon? What use is a brief cessation in hostilities when hospital wards lie in ruins and when roads used to deliver medical supplies and food are destroyed?”

Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight – and Israeli troops were about 1.8 miles from al Shifa Hospital in the heart of the city centre, the hospital’s director said.

Many are fleeing along roads such as the Salah al Din – with some carrying white flags to show they are civilians.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said they had taken a key Hamas stronghold after a 10-hour battle.

Troops belonging to the Nahal Brigade, one of the IDF’s main infantry units, secured “Outpost 17” in west Jabaliya in northern Gaza.

The IDF said it engaged in fighting “above ground and in an underground route”, suggesting Hamas may have used some of its vast tunnel network during the battle.

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Aid conference in Paris

It comes as officials from Western and Arab nations, the UN and non-governmental organisations met for an international conference in Paris with the aim of providing urgent aid to civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The conference gathered about 80 countries and organisations to find ways to help wounded civilians escape the siege.

More than 1.5 million people – or about 70% of Gaza’s population – have fled their homes, and an estimated $1.2bn (£977m) is needed to respond to the crisis in Palestinian areas.

Humanitarian organisations have called for more aid to flow into Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas.

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Sky’s Mark Stone is on the Israeli-Egypt border at Nitzana, and has given an update on the status of the Rafah crossing into Gaza and the flow of aid.

He said “the border is open and trucks have been passing through … [but at] a trickle”.

Delays are occurring because Israel is insisting on checking every truck that enters Gaza from its own soil.

“About 100 trucks a day at the moment are being allowed to pass from Egypt into Israel where they are security screened,” he said.

Once cleared, the trucks travel back into Egypt and are allowed to pass into Gaza at the Rafah crossing.

Israel has rejected any calls for a ceasefire until Hamas releases the roughly 240 hostages that it took during the attack on 7 October.

Hamas killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies – in the single worst day of bloodshed in the country’s 75-year history.

Palestinian officials said 10,569 Gaza residents had been killed as of Wednesday, about 40% of them children.

A man has been found guilty of the murder of Irish teacher Ashling Murphy.

The 23-year-old woman was killed while she was out exercising along a canal in Tullamore, County Offaly, in January last year.

She was wearing a Fitbit which showed her exercise started at 2.51pm. But 30 minutes later it tracked “erratic, violent movements”. At 3.31pm, the Fitbit was no longer recording any heartbeat.

Mr Murphy’s death drew outrage across Ireland and the UK, prompting calls for more to be done about femicide.

Jozef Puska, 33, of Mucklagh, Tullamore, was convicted by a jury of nine men and three women who reached their unanimous guilty verdict after beginning deliberations at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Wednesday.

Puska had pleaded not guilty to Ms Murphy’s murder.

Members of the victim’s family cried and hugged each other after the guilty verdict while Puska briefly placed his head in his hands before staring at the floor.

During the trial, the court heard a man was seen in a ditch with a woman, believed to be Ms Murphy, and he shouted for a witness to go away.

The witness said Ms Murphy appeared to be fighting back, but not making any noise.

Judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt told the jury “we have evil in this room” after the verdict.

Justice Hunt said: “There will be a day of reckoning for Puska.”

The judge said the case was particularly difficult given “the kind of person that she obviously was”.

Speaking of the Murphy family, he said: “Their position is unenviable. How their child was taken away, to consider what happened here is enough to make you physically ill.”

The jury were applauded as they exited the chamber as Ms Murphy’s mother held up a framed photograph of her daughter.

The judge said he had asked for silence but said the applause was “understandable”.

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Loved ones pay tribute to Ms Murphy

Speaking outside the court, Ryan Casey, Ms Murphy’s partner, said: “Ashling was a vibrant, intelligent and highly motivated young woman who embodied so many great traits and qualities of the Irish people and its communities.

“Her life had a huge impact on so many of those around her, and she was the epitome of a perfect role model for every little girl to look up to and strive to be. She was not only an integral part of our family, but she was also a huge shining light in our community.”

Family’s relief at guilty verdict

Her brother, Cathal Murphy, said: “Ashling was subject to incomprehensible violence, a predator who was not known to her.

“The judicial process cannot bring our darling Ashling back, nor can it heal our wounds. But we are relieved that this verdict delivers justice. It is simply imperative that this vicious monster can never harm another woman again.”

Women’s Aid welcomed the conviction, saying in a statement: “The murder of Ashling Murphy was a shocking example of dangers posed to women and the case put a spotlight on the inherent risk of male violence in society. Every woman should have the right to be safe, both in their own homes and in their communities.

“One man goes to jail today but this will not bring Ashling back or compensate for her heart-rending loss. Effective criminal justice sanctions are vital and we truly hope this offers some measure of justice and closure to Ashling’s family and friends.”

The Israeli military has invited a large contingent of media organisations, including Sky News, to the Nitzana border crossing in the Negev Desert.

On the border between Israel and Egypt, it is currently the point through which all goods must pass before they can enter Gaza.

The purpose of the visit is to show the world that aid is getting into Gaza. And it’s true that trucks are making it in – but it’s stop-start and it’s a very laborious process.

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Before any goods are allowed to pass into Gaza, they must be security screened by the Israelis – a process that takes some time.

This is only happening at the Egypt-Israel Nitzana crossing where we were brought today.

The trucks arrive from Egypt on the Israeli side. There they are screened, sometimes several times, before passing back through to the Egyptian side of the border.

They then drive up to the Rafah crossing where they are checked again before passing into Gaza.

The Israelis say they have ‘eyes’ (probably drones) on the trucks as they drive from Nitzana to Rafah.

Since the 7 October Hamas attacks which triggered this conflict, an average of 38 trucks a day have crossed into Gaza through this stop-start process.

They are all required to pass through Nitzana and then snake back around through to the Rafah crossing.

Today’s expected figure is 96 trucks, which is encouraging but not nearly sufficient, according to UN officials.

The context is important here. Pre-war, about 500 trucks a day would get into Gaza.

The trucks would pass through various routes – either directly from Egypt through their Rafah/Salah Al Din crossing (primarily a foot crossing but increasingly used for goods) – or from Israel into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The northern Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza is for people (under stringent conditions) only.

It was badly damaged by Hamas during their 7 October attack.

There is no airport in Gaza. The Yasser Arafat International Airport was destroyed by Israel in 2001.

United Nations officials tell me that the 96 trucks set to make the journey today are a fraction of what’s needed.

“It’s not just the number of people in Gaza who need humanitarian aid, it’s the depth of their needs,” one UN official told me this week.

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The Israeli military, which manages the Nitzana crossing, has a different perspective on the situation inside Gaza.

“There is no humanitarian crisis inside Gaza,” Colonel Moshe Tetro, head of the Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza, told me.

But multiple aid agencies and the United Nations, who are on the ground in Gaza, have said repeatedly that the situation is dire.

An Australian surfer has broken the record for the biggest-ever paddle-in wave surfed by a woman.

Laura Enever set a Guinness World Record on 22 January when she surfed a 43.6ft (13.3m) wave at Outer Reef on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii.

The Australian called the wave “a gift” as she described the “perfect spot” she was in moments before she set a new record.

The 31-year-old said: “So many people were being taken out that day and I was kind of like just paddling around and sort of found this position in the line-up that I just felt like was kind of just a spot where if the wave came that was sort of big enough I would’ve been able to ride it.

“When that wave came I just… I was in the perfect spot. And that’s why I say it was such a gift, I was just right in the perfect spot and I turned and I had to take a few paddles.

“And I felt it pick me up and I looked down the face and I knew it was big when I was paddling into it but it wasn’t until I looked down the face and was like, it’s a long way down!”

Enever’s accomplishment was certified by Guinness World Records on Thursday at a ceremony in Sydney.

Paddle-in waves mean a surfer entered the currents unassisted. A tow-in wave instead is where surfers are pulled by jet-ski so they can access bigger tides.

The title for the biggest wave ever paddled into by a woman was previously Andrea Moller’s, who rode a 42ft wave on 16 January 2016, at Peahi, also known as Jaws, in Maui, Hawaii.

The Guinness World Record for the largest wave ever surfed by a woman is held by Maya Gabeira after riding a 73.5ft wave in Nazaré, Portugal.