By Samia Nakhoul (Reuters) -Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is unrepentant about the Oct. 7 attacks a year ago, people in contact with him say, despite unleashing an Israeli invasion that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians,

In an airstrike three months ago, Israel’s military killed Rawhi Mushtaha, a senior Hamas leader, along with fellow commanders Sameh Siraj and Sameh Oudeh. Mushtaha was Yahya Sinwar’s key associate, managing Hamas' civil governance and security operations in Gaza.

After his release, Sinwar rose in the Hamas ranks. In 2017, he became the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. Then after Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a suspected Israeli attack in Tehran this year, he became the chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, or the group's de facto leader.