Hamas has named a name Yahya SinwarGaza’s top leader who masterminded the deadly October 7 attack on Israel became the new leader after his predecessor was killed in an airstrike in Iran.
The move will undoubtedly provoke Israel, as Israel has put him at the top of its hit list following the October 7 attack in which militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 hostages.
In a statement, Hamas announced that “Commander Yahya Sinwar has been elected as head of the movement’s political bureau, succeeding martyred leader Ismail Haniyehmay God have mercy on him.”
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Sinwar is close to Iran and has worked for years to build up Hamas’s strength. His promotion came after the death of Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh was killed in a suspected bomb attack in Tehran, while a senior Hezbollah commander was also killed in Beirut last week in a suspected Israeli attack.
The killings have raised fears of a wider conflict, with Israel fighting on multiple fronts.
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Iran has vowed to retaliate. Israel has accused Sinwar of masterminding the deadly Oct. 7 attack. Israeli officials believe he has taken refuge in the terror group’s vast network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip and is surrounded by hostages as human shields.
Last week, Israel said it had confirmed the death of the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in a July airstrike in Gaza. Hamas has not confirmed his death.
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Hamas’s representative in Iran, Khaled Kaddoumi, called Sinwar a “consensus choice” who is popular among all factions and involved in the group’s decision-making, including negotiations. In a voice message to The Associated Press, he said Sinwar knows the Palestinians’ political aspirations for statehood and refugee return, but is also a “fierce fighter on the battlefield.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sinwar “is and remains the primary decision-maker when it comes to concluding the ceasefire.”
He said Sinwar “has to decide whether he wants to continue with a ceasefire that will clearly help so many Palestinians in desperate need, women, children, men who are caught in the crossfire. … It is really his responsibility.”
Sinwar has been the leader of Hamas in Gaza since 2017 and rules with an iron fist.
In May, the International Criminal Court requested an arrest warrant for Sinwar on war crimes charges in connection with the October 7 attack, as well as for war crimes charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Minister.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source original article: Hamas appoints Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of October 7 attacks, as new leader after Haniyeh’s killing
