The “Shadow” atop Hamas: Who is Mohammed Sinwar?

It’s been three months since Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in a Gaza raid. Since then, his younger brother Mohammed has taken the reins.

What is known about him? He is believed to be about 50 and to have been a member of Hamas since his youth. According to reports, he isn’t nearly as familiar to the Israelis as Yahya, who spent decades in Israeli prisons before his 2011 release as part of a hostage swap deal with Hamas. Israeli security officials refer to Mohammed as “the Shadow.”

Why it matters: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to destroy Hamas as a prerequisite for ending the military campaign and allowing the formation of a new Gaza government. Hamas, for obvious reasons, rejects these conditions.

But after 15 months of war – which has reduced Gaza to rubble, displaced some 2 million people, and killed tens of thousands – that goal is elusive. A crippled Hamas remains active, especially in Northern Gaza, which Israel claimed earlier to have rid of the group.

Ceasefire, you say? The waning days of the Biden administration have seen a whirlwind of diplomacy to secure a deal that releases the remaining hostages held by Hamas, but key differences remain over the phasing of a ceasefire and conditions for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. Incoming president Donald Trumphas warned that unless a deal is reached ahead of his inauguration, “all hell will break loose.”