The head of the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar tested positive for the coronavirus, Hamas said in an official statement on Tuesday morning.

Sinwar, 58, the second most powerful figure in Hamas after Ismail Haniyeh, is asymptomatic and feeling well and is continuing his regular work schedule while in quarantine, the statement said.

Sinwar, who is the co-founder of Hamas’s military wing and security apparatus, was designated by the US as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in 2015. He was arrested by Israel in 1988 for masterminding the abduction and murder of two Israeli soldiers and in 1989 was convicted of murder and sentenced to four life sentences. He tried to escape several times but was always caught.

In 2008, he underwent surgery while in prison to remove a brain tumor and as far as is known his medical condition has been good since. He was released three years later as part of the Shalit deal and in early 2017 was elected to replace Ismail Haniyeh as Hamas leader in Gaza.

Kan‘s Arab Affair correspondent Roi Kais posted a video of Sinwar issuing creative instructions to the Gaza public on how to avoid contracting the coronavirus, commenting that “apparently he didn’t adhere to them.”

ביום שבו מנהיג חמאס בעזה, סינוואר, נדבק בקורונה כדאי להיזכר בהנחיות היצירתיות שהוא עצמו נתן לציבור וכנראה לא ממש עמד בהן @AlonAmitzi pic.twitter.com/1ddthLorat

— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) December 1, 2020

The coronavirus situation in the Gaza Strip has been spinning out of control in the past two weeks, according to Palestinian health officials. Coronavirus tests in the Strip are showing an alarming 30% positivity rate despite the fact that only asymptomatic Gazans are tested due to a lack of tests.  A total of 815 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours as well as nine deaths, raising the death toll in the Strip to 111. There are currently 10,000 active corona patients, with 132 of them in critical condition.

Despite the dire situation, Hamas is reluctant to impose a lockdown in the Strip due to the already dire economic situation in the coastal enclave.

The morbidity rate in the Palestinian Authority is also extremely high and may be contributing to the also high morbidity rate in the Israeli-Arab sector, with reports saying that over half of new daily coronavirus cases in Israel are from the Arab sector.

A number of high-ranking Hamas officials have contracted the coronavirus, including deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, political bureau leader Fathi Hamad, international relations director Moussa Abu Marzouq and spokesmen Sami Abu Zuhri and Taher A-Nunu.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)