Amid the continued Israeli strikes on Gaza and the international efforts to reach a ceasefire, there is growing public furor in the Gaza Strip regarding the escape of family members of senior Hamas officials, as many residents remain trapped amidst the rubble.
According to local sources cited by Ynet, the Hamas leadership made sure to smuggle their families out before the current escalation began. The reports raise questions among Gazans about how the families of those who brought on the destruction are not themselves in Gaza.
According to the report, Samar Abu Zamer, the widow of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, fled the Gaza Strip for Turkey with her children using a forged passport belonging to another woman. "It demanded a high level of coordination, logistical aid, and a lot of money which the average Gaza resident doesn't have," one local source stated.
According to that source, Abu Zamer remarried in Turkey through the mediation of Fathi Hamad, a member of Hamas' political bureau, who in the past was connected to efforts to smuggle out Hamas members and their families.
Mohammed Sinwar's wife, Najawa, also left the Strip with her children before her husband's elimination. She is assumed to be residing in Turkey as well.
Israeli defense officials confirmed the report, and according to them, the two crossed the Rafah Crossing before their husbands were eliminated.