September 19, 2024
BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the deadly Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader after his predecessor was killed in a presumed Israeli 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 signal that the group is prepared to keep fighting after 10 months of destruction from Israel's campaign in Gaza and after the assassination of Sinwar's predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh.
It is also likely to provoke Israel, which has put him at the top of its kill list after the Oct. 7 attack, in which militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 as hostages.
The announcement comes at volatile moment. Fears are high of an escalation into a wider regional war, with Iran vowing revenge against Israel over Haniyeh's killing and Lebanon's Hezbollah threatening to retaliate over Israel's killing of one of its top commanders in an airstrike in Beirut last week. American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to salvage negotiations over a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza, shaken by Haniyeh' killing.
In reaction to the appointment, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya televsion, “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, which has traditionally maintained the position of the overall leadership to navigate relations with foreign allies and diplomacy.
Hamas' allies Iran and Hezbollah issued statements praising Sinwar's appointment.
Hamas' representative in Iran, Khaled Kaddoumi, called Sinwar a “consensus choice” popular among all factions and involved in the group’s decision-making throughout, including in negotiations. In a voice message to the AP, he said Sinwar knows the political aspirations of the Palestinians for a state and the return of refugees but he is also a “fierce fighter on the battlefield.”
Mediators have been struggling to push through a U.S.-backed outline for a deal, but talks have hit obstacles, particularly over its centerpiece terms — a release of all of Hamas' remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
As Hamas' leader inside Gaza since 2017, Sinwar rarely appeared in public but kept an iron grip on Hamas' rule over the territory. Close to Deif and Qassam Brigades, he worked to build up the group's military capabilities.
He has been in deep hiding since the Oct. 7 attacks, which triggered Israel's campaign aimed at destroying Hamas.
