Slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s wife fled Gaza with fake passport, remarried in Turkey: Report

The wife of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has fled Gaza with the couple’s children using a forged passport, according to Hebrew media Ynet. The report added that Samar Muhammad Abu Zamar is currently living in Turkey and has since remarried.

Samar left via the Rafah border crossing into Egypt, the report quoted unnamed Palestinian sources,  which added that she used the passport of another Gazan woman. “That required logistical support, cooperation at a high level, and a lot of cash that the average Gaza resident doesn’t have,” the source said.

It was Hamas senior official Fathi Hammad who arranged her remarriage in Turkey, the report said. Hammad is said to be a smuggler who has moved Hamas members and families out of Gaza. He is said to have set up a system  to smuggle the families of senior members out of the Strip, including fake passports, fictitious medical records, and assistance from the embassies of supporting countries.

Not just Samar, Yahya Sinwar’s brother, Muhammed’s widow Najwa, too, is said to have escaped Gaza to Turkey. Muhammed took over as Hamas’s Gaza chief after the death of his brother Yahya Sinwar. However, it is unclear where Najwa is and whether she remarried.

An Israeli security source confirmed to Ynet News that both women left via Rafah before their husbands were killed.

Samar shot to the limelight after the IDF released a video showing her escaping via a tunnel. At that time, she was seen carrying a Hermes Birkin bag, though it is not clear whether it was a knock off of the expensive brand.

 

Middle East