Following the killing of its former political commander in Tehran, Hamas has appointed Yahya Sinwar as its next leader. Hamas made the announcement of Sinwar’s appointment in a succinct statement on Tuesday.
It is thought that Sinwar, the army chief of Hamas is actually the one who is responsible for the attack on Israel on October 7, and is concealed in the network of tunnels beneath Gaza. He is regarded as the organization’s principal leader in Gaza and is said to be in charge of the 120 or so Israeli captives that Hamas currently holds.
Sinwar takes over for Ismail Haniyeh, the previous political head of Hamas, who was been recently murdered in a blast that Iran and Hamas authorities said was carried out by Israel. The murder has increased concerns of a wider conflict in the region including Iran, which supports Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran has vowed to exact revenge on Israel for the invasion of its territory.
Another important player in the cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Haniyeh served as a go-between for Israel and Sinwar. Although he led Hamas representatives in negotiations facilitated by Egypt, Qatar, and the US toward a truce and agreement on prisoners, Haniyeh had personal power over Hamas attackers in the Gaza Strip.
Sinwar’s Political Background
As one of Hamas’ original members, Sinwar is regarded as the organization’s strongest character. Former leader of the group’s intelligence section Sinwar got four life sentences for attempted murder and rebellion, and he was imprisoned in Israeli jails for 23 years. He was described as “1,000% committed and 1,000% violent, a very, very hard man” by a previous interrogator.
Sinwar was freed in 2011 exchange in which Israel released 1,000 inmates in return for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas five years ago. Sinwar went back to militancy right away, declaring that he had come to the conclusion that the only way to rescue Israeli detainees was to capture Israeli troops. It is thought that Sinwar carried out the October 7 strike from Gaza without notifying the elected authority, which Haniyeh headed in Qatar.
Israel declared that it has killed Mohammed Deif, the military chief of Hamas, in an assault in July along with many other important figures in the organization’s leadership. January also saw the death of Saleh al-Arouri, another prominent political figure.
The assassination of prominent Hamas figures, has resulted in escalating hostilities between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden. The Israeli PM is purposely undermining attempts to reach a truce, Biden warned Netanyahu last week during a phone conversation. According to Netanyahu, the Tehran killing would increase pressure on Hamas and will speed up the process of reaching a truce. However, it would momentarily stall talks.
