Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar, the top official in Gaza who masterminded the October 7 attacks in Israel, as the group’s new leader after his predecessor was killed in a strike in Iran.
The selection of Sinwar, a secretive figure close to Iran who worked for years to build up Hamas’ military strength, was a defiant signal that the group was prepared to keep fighting after 10 months of war with Israel.
His predecessor Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran while he was visiting for the inauguration of the new president.
It is likely to provoke Israel, which has put him at the top of its kill list after the October 7 attack, in which militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 as hostages.
The announcement comes as tensions remain sky-high in the Middle East, fuelled in part by Israel’s recent assassinations, which included a prominent Hezbollah commander last week in Lebanon.
American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to salvage negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, shaken by Haniyeh’s killing.
Also last week, Israel said it had confirmed the death of the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in a July airstrike in Gaza.
In reaction to the appointment, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television: “There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7th terrorists.
“That is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him.”
Israel’s killings of multiple senior officials in Hamas over recent months left Sinwar as the most prominent figure in the group.
His selection signals that the leadership on the ground in Gaza – particularly the armed wing known as the Qassam Brigades – has taken over from the leadership in exile.
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