Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar as the new leader of its political wing, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week. The appointment was announced in a brief statement by the Palestinian militant group on Tuesday.
Sinwar has served as the group’s leader inside Gaza since 2017. Israel believes him to be the architect of the October 7, 2023 incursion into southern Israel, in which Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took over 250 hostage. The attack sparked the current war in Gaza, which has so far killed almost 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
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Israeli officials believe that Sinwar has been hiding in Hamas’s network of tunnels beneath Gaza since the massacre that he allegedly orchestrated 10 months ago.
Immediately after the Hamas statement, Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for Sinwar to be killed.
“The appointment of arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar as the new leader of Hamas, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, is yet another compelling reason to swiftly eliminate him and wipe this vile organization off the face of the earth,” Katz wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday.
The announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions, as Iran and its allies threaten retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh, which they blame on Israel. The Jewish state has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
Read more: Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination: What does it mean for Hamas?
The escalation has prompted the US to deploy extra forces to defend Israel, in case of an attack.
Earlier this year, Iran launched a large-scale missile and drone barrage against Israel, in retaliation for the bombing of an Iranian consulate in Syria. The bombardment was repelled with significant help from the US, UK and other allied forces in the region.