The speech by Hamas' leader in Gaza to thousands of cheering supporters bore the hallmarks of crowd-pleasing hyperbole. In the days after the Oct. 7 attacks, Sinwar was seen by some of the Israeli hostages in the tunnels, freed hostages have said. "DEAD MAN WALKING"Born in the Khan Younis refugee camp, Sinwar, 61, was elected as Hamas' leader in Gaza in 2017. Both Hamas leaders and Israeli officials who know Sinwar agree he is devoted to the militant movement to an extraordinary level. "He told me Hamas is my wife, Hamas is my child.

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Persons: Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Heard, Aqsa, Sinwar, Khan, Yoav Gallant, Michael Koubi, Koubi, Yuval Bitton, Bitton, Stephen Farrell, Jonathan Saul, Samia, Nidal Al, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Hamas, Deif, Reuters, Shin Bet, Prison, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Israel's, Hamas, Al, Jerusalem, Qatar, Gaza City, Lebanon, Bitton, London, Samia Nakhoul, Beirut, Mughrabi, Cairo