BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, a top Gaza official who masterminded the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, as its new leader, a dramatic sign of strength for the Palestinian militant group’s hardline wing after Sinwar’s predecessor was killed in a suspected Israeli attack in Iran.
Sinwar’s Choice, A secretive person The remarks by a man close to Iran, who has long sought to strengthen Hamas’ military power, came in response to 10 months of destruction caused by Israel’s Gaza operation. Sinwar’s predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh.
It could also provoke Israel, which put him at the top of its hit list after militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 hostages in an Oct. 7 attack.
The announcement comes at a volatile time. Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel over Haniya’s killing, and Lebanon’s Hezbollah has threatened to retaliate for Israel’s killing of one of its top commanders in an airstrike last week in Beirut, raising concerns of escalation into a broader regional war. U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to repair talks over a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza that have been shaken by Haniya’s killing.
Hamas said in a statement that it had appointed Sinwar as head of Hamas’ political bureau, replacing Haniyeh, who was killed in an explosion that Iran and Hamas blamed on Israel. Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the attack. Israel also said last week that it had confirmed that Hamas’ military chief, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July. Hamas has not confirmed his death.
Following the appointment, Israeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV: “There is only one place where Yahya Sinwal can be housed, and that is next to Mohammed Deif and the other October 7 terrorists. That is the only place we are prepared and intend for Sinwar.”
Israel has killed several senior Hamas figures in recent months, making Sinwar the group’s most visible figure. His election marks a move by Gaza’s on-the-ground leadership, particularly the militia known as the Qassam Brigades, to take power from exiled leaders who have traditionally held the reins in shaping relations and diplomacy with foreign allies.
Haniyeh, who has been living in self-imposed exile in Qatar since 2019, was directly involved in ceasefire negotiations in Gaza through U.S., Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, but he and other senior Hamas officials constantly informed him of Sinwar’s proposals and positions.
After the announcement, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera television that Sinwar would continue to negotiate a ceasefire.
“The problem in the negotiations is not Hamas’ change,” he said, blaming Israel and its ally the United States for the failure to reach an agreement.
But he also said Sinwar’s selection was proof that the group’s resolve was unwavering. Hamas “remains steadfast on the battlefield and in politics,” he said. “The person currently in command has led the fight for over 305 days and remains steadfast on the battlefield.”
Hamas’ allies Iran and Hezbollah issued statements praising Sinwar’s appointment.
Hamas’ Iranian representative, Khaled Kadoumi, called Sinwar “a consensus choice who is supported by all factions and has been consistently involved in the group’s decision-making, including negotiations.” In an audio message to The Associated Press, he said Sinwar knows the political aspirations of Palestinians for statehood and the return of refugees, but that he is also “a fierce fighter on the battlefield.”
Mediators are struggling to push through a U.S.-backed agreement, but the talks have faced obstacles, particularly over a core condition: the release of all Hamas hostages in exchange for an end to the war and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Hamas has demanded guarantees from the mediators that the initial ceasefire will continue until a trade-off is reached, and Israeli leaders have warned that they will resume fighting to remove Hamas after an initial partial hostage release.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “Shinwar has been and will continue to be the primary decision maker when it comes to concluding a ceasefire.”
He said Sinwar “must decide whether to go ahead with a ceasefire, which would obviously help a lot of Palestinians, women, children, men caught in the crossfire who are in desperate need of assistance. It’s really up to him.”
As Hamas’ leader in Gaza since 2017, Sinwar rarely appeared in public but maintained a tight grip on Hamas’ governance in the region. He had close ties to the Deif and Qassam Brigades and worked to strengthen the group’s military power.
At the end of one of his few public speeches, Sinwal called for Israel to assassinate him and declared, “After this meeting, I will walk home,” before going on the street and shaking hands with people and taking selfies with them, before actually carrying out the assassination.
Sinwar has been in hiding since the October 7 attack, which triggered an Israeli bombing campaign and offensive aimed at destroying Hamas. The death toll is now nearing 40,000 Palestinians, most of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced, and large parts of Gaza’s towns and cities have been destroyed. In May, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court sought arrest warrants for Sinwar, as well as for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister, on war crimes charges related to the October 7 attack.
Hugh Lovatt, an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the removal of other leaders paved the way for Sinwar. “Two weeks ago, few would have expected Sinwar to be the next leader of this group, despite his strong influence from Gaza,” he said.
The killing of Haniyeh, a relative moderate, “not only paved the way for Sinwar to gain complete control of Hamas but also appears to have tilted Hamas in a more hardline direction,” he said.
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Associated Press writers Kareem Shehaieb and Sara El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
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