Claim: Yahya Sinwar’s wife was seen carrying a $32,000 Birkin bag while walking in a tunnel.
Fact: Samr Mohammed Abu Zamer, wife of the late Yahya Sinwar, was not carrying a Birkin bag. Soch Fact Check’s analysis revealed that the bag in the image circulating on social media does not match the Hermès Birkin bag.
On 20 October, IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Avichay Adraee shared an image on X (archive) of Sinwar’s wife carrying a bag while standing in a tunnel, alongside a screenshot of a Birkin bag from the Hermès website, with the caption, “هل زوجة السنوار دخلت معه إلى النفق في السادس من أكتوبر وبحوزتها حقيبة لشركة بيركين التي تقدر كلفتها بنحو 32 ألف دولار؟! أترك لكم التعليق.
بينما لا يملك سكان غزة الأموال الكافية لخيمة أو للمواد الأساسية نرى أمثلة كثيرة لحب يحيي السنوار وزوجته الخاص للأموال…”
[Translated from Arabic: Did Sinwar’s wife enter the tunnel with him on October 6, carrying a Birkin bag estimated to cost about $32,000?! I will leave the comment to you.
While the people of Gaza do not have enough money for a tent or basic necessities, we see many examples of Yahya Sinwar and his wife’s special love for money…]
The claim was widely shared on social media, including here (archive) on X by the official account of the state of Israel and here (archive) by the American tabloid New York Post.
Sky News Australia also published an article (archive) with the headline: “Slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s wife captured in footage carrying AU$48,000 Birkin bag into hiding hours before Oct 7.” The article discussed footage released by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) showing Samr Abu Zamer, wife of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, carrying what appears to be a Birkin bag while hiding in a tunnel with her family hours before the 7 October attack on Israel. According to the article, an IDF spokesperson took to X to point out the accessory and highlight the disparity between the luxurious lifestyle of Hamas leaders and the suffering of Gaza’s residents.
Samr Abu Zamer Sinwar
Elaph.com, an independent, non-governmental Arabic news outlet based in the UK, reported that Samr Mohammed Abu Zamer has maintained her private life away from the media, in accordance with the vision of her late husband and the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar.
She married Sinwar in 2011 at the age of 31, with the Hamas leader being about 18 years her senior. Zamer earned a master’s degree in religious studies from the Islamic University of Gaza, where she taught until her marriage in 2011, according to Elaph.com. Their marriage took place just one month after Sinwar’s release from Israeli imprisonment in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal.
Yahya Sinwar, who was the leader of Hamas in Gaza, became the overall leader of the organisation after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024. Born in Gaza in 1962, Sinwar joined Hamas early in life and established its security service, ‘Majd’, which handles internal security and intelligence matters, according to the BBC. A CNN report states that he was imprisoned in Israel in 1988 on four life sentences and released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange. As the architect of the 7 October attacks, Sinwar remained one of Israel’s top targets since that day and was killed by Israeli forces in Rafah on 16 October 2024.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a side-by-side analysis of the bag Sinwar’s wife is carrying and the Hermes Birkin 40 Black Togo bag. Right away, it’s clear that the handles are different: the handle on her bag is longer and has metal detailing, while the Hermes bag has gold hardware.
Upon closer inspection, the handles of the Birkin 40 Black Togo bag are not secured with metal clasps at the bottom, which are visible on the bag carried by Sinwar’s wife in the image. Moreover, unlike the Birkin, her bag does not seem to have the gold padlock or the leather stitching above it.
Lastly, we noted that both accessories have a different shape as the Birkin has a wider bottom with a more slender top, whereas the bag carried by Sinwar’s wife appears to be rectangular in shape with a uniform width at the top and bottom.
Virality
The claim was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on X. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Facebook, it was shared here, here, here, here, and here.
It was also shared here and here on Threads.
Conclusion: The claim that Yahya Sinwar’s wife Samr Mohammed Abu Zamer was carrying a $32,000 Birkin bag is false. Soch Fact Check’s analysis revealed several differences in the design of her bag and the original accessory, confirming that she was not carrying an Hermès Birkin bag.
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Background image in cover photo: @IDF/@Yashar
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com