Ismail Haniyeh's life and political career have been marked by a number of significant events. Born in 1962 in the Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, he hails from a family that originally fled from the village of Al-Jura near Ashkelon. His early life was shaped by the challenges of growing up without his father, who passed away during his childhood. Unfortunately, there isn't much information available about his mother's origins.

In his youth, Haniyeh worked in Israel as a plasterer. He also became involved in the student council of the Islamic University of Gaza during the 1980s and even served as its chairman for two years. This period saw him engage in clashes with Mohammed Dahlan, who would later become a prominent figure in the Fatah movement. In 1987, Haniyeh earned a degree in Arabic literature from the Islamic University of Gaza, but that same year, he was placed under administrative detention for six months.

Hamas doesn't care about the people of Gaza, they never did.

If they did, instead of building hundreds of KM’s of terror tunnels, they would have built bomb shelters.

While the people of Gaza suffer - Ismail Haniyeh lounges in the four seasons in Doha.#FreeGazaFromHamas pic.twitter.com/JT60iE3IYn

— Yaari Cohen (@YaariCohen) November 2, 2023

In 1989, he began serving a three-year prison sentence in Ketziot prison. After completing his sentence, he was deported to southern Lebanon in 1992. However, a year later, Haniyeh returned to Gaza along with 416 other deportees. He was appointed as the secretary of the board of trustees of the Islamic University in Gaza and took on the role of its administrative director.

Haniyeh also ventured into politics, initially submitting his candidacy for the first Palestinian Legislative Council elections. However, he withdrew from the race due to pressure from the Hamas movement.

One notable development in his political career came with the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin from prison in 1997, as Haniyeh was appointed head of his office. Tragically, on September 6, 2003, during an Israeli operation aimed at eliminating Hamas leaders, Haniyeh was in an apartment in Gaza with other Hamas leaders, including Sheikh Yassin. He sustained a minor injury to his arm due to bombs dropped by the Air Force.

As the second intifada unfolded, Haniyeh's position within the Hamas movement grew stronger, particularly due to his proximity to Sheikh Yassin and the targeted killings of many Hamas leaders by Israel. In December 2005, he was elected to head the Hamas list, and on January 25, 2006, he led the movement to victory over the Fatah movement in elections. Subsequently, he was elected as the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, beginning his tenure on February 19, 2006.

This is your daily reminder that Hamas leaders like Ismail Haniyeh, are flying around on private jets, living abroad in five star hotels and are worth BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, all while half of Gaza's population lives under the poverty line.

Being a mass-murdering terrorist pays. pic.twitter.com/HJSIFyE0mj

— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) November 5, 2023

However, his role faced challenges, and on June 14, 2007, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from the position of Prime Minister due to clashes in the Gaza Strip between Fatah and Hamas factions. Hamas rejected his dismissal, and Haniyeh continued to exert influence in the Gaza Strip, a position he still holds to some extent today.

Currently, Ismail Haniyeh, who is now a billionaire, resides in Doha, Qatar, with occasional visits to the Gaza Strip. He is married and the father of 13 children. Additionally, he has two brothers and eight sisters, three of whom married Israeli Bedouins, and they now have Israeli citizenship and live in Tel Sheva near Be'er Sheva.