Yahya Sinwar in the context of "Ismail Haniyeh"

Hamas began governing the Gaza Strip in June 2007 when it took over the territory from the rival Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA). The Hamas administration was first led by Ismail Haniyeh from June 2007 until February 2017; then by Yahya Sinwar until his killing in October 2024; then by Mohammed Sinwar until his assassination in May 2025; and since then by Izz al-Din al-Haddad. During the Gaza war (2023–present), the group lost control over most of the Gaza Strip to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and as a result of the Gaza peace plan, agreed in October 2025, the IDF currently controls approximately 53% of the territory. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on 17 November 2025, contains provisions to effectively place the Gaza Strip under international administration.

After Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections on 25 January 2006, Ismail Haniyeh was nominated as the prime minister of the PA, establishing a national unity government with Fatah. This government effectively collapsed with the outbreak of the violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah. After the takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas on 14 June 2007, PA president Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led government and appointed Salam Fayyad as prime minister. Though the new Palestinian government's authority was claimed to extend to both the Palestinian territories, in effect it became limited to the West Bank, as Hamas did not recognize the dismissal and continued to rule the Gaza Strip as an effectively separate administration from the PA. There have been reconciliation attempts between Fatah and Hamas since the 2007 split; a brief Palestinian unity government in 2014 failed to organize elections and reunify the Palestinian territories. A third government was formed by Hamas in October 2016.

On 16 October 2024, during their operations in the Gaza war, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. His killing was the result of a routine patrol and a chance encounter in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. He had been one of Israel's most wanted men after the October 7 attacks.

In the lead-up to the shootout, members of the 828th Bislamach Brigade reported activity they deemed suspicious and received orders to engage. When their drone spotted three militants leaving a building, the soldiers fired upon them, not knowing that Sinwar was among them. The militants scattered, with Sinwar entering a nearby building alone. A firefight ensued, in which an IDF soldier was severely injured. An IDF tank fired at Sinwar's location and troops advanced into the building, but they pulled back after he threw grenades at them. IDF then sent the drone to survey the interior, detecting the injured Sinwar, his identity still unknown to engaging troops. After entering again the following day, they found Sinwar's body in the wrecked building and suspected it could be his, based on resemblance. They cut a finger from the body and sent it to Israel for identification purposes; later in the day, the body was dispatched as well.

Mohammed Ibrahim Hassan al-Sinwar (Arabic: محمد إبراهيم حسن السنوار, romanized: Muḥammad Ibrāhīm Ḥasan as-Sinwār; 16 September 1975 – 13 May 2025) was a Palestinian politician and militant who became the third Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, following the killing of his brother, Yahya Sinwar in October 2024. He also served as the seventh commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades since July 2024. He held both positions until he was killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in May 2025.

Born in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, Sinwar spent several years in Israeli and Palestinian Authority jails in the 1990s and became the leader of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade in 2005. Israel attempted to assassinate him several times prior to killing him in May 2025.

Karim Asad Ahmad Khan KC (born 30 March 1970) is a British lawyer who has served as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court since 2021. He specialises in international criminal law and international human rights law.

On 20 May 2024, Khan announced the ICC's decision to apply for arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. In November 2024, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, along with Gallant and Deif. An arrest warrant against Myanmar military junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, was also requested the same month. Khan temporarily stepped down as chief prosecutor in May 2025 due to allegations of sexual misconduct.