Hamas is reportedly demanding that Israel turn over the bodies of the terror group's slain leaders, Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed Sinwar, as a condition for advancing the US-backed Gaza peace plan.
The request, which Arab mediators relayed to The Wall Street Journal, places a macabre and politically charged obstacle into the implementation of the comprehensive framework proposed by US President Donald Trump. The Journal noted that Israel has already previously rejected the request.
The Sinwars: Architects of War
The demand for the remains of the two commanders, both of whom were central figures in Hamas's leadership and terrorist actions, highlights their continued symbolic importance to the terror organization:
Yahya Sinwar was the former Hamas leader and alleged architect of the October 7, 2023, attack, and was killed by the IDF in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in October last year. His brother, Mohammed Sinwar was his successor as the head of Hamas’s military wing, and was killed in an Israeli airstrike less than a year later, in May of this year.
