Hamas appointed the militant group's leader for Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, as its political chief, a move that confirms the radical trend the group has pursued since the October 7 attack on Israel. Sinwar succeeds Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran last week.
Sinwar, the architect of the most devastating attack on Israel in decades, has remained in hiding in Gaza, defying Israeli efforts to kill him since the start of the war.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas announces the election of commander Yahya Sinwar as the political head of the movement, to succeed the martyred commander Ismail Haniyeh,” said a brief statement from the movement.
News of the appointment was accompanied by a barrage of rockets from militants in Gaza who continue to fight Israeli troops in the besieged enclave.
Sinwar, who has spent years in Israeli prisons, is the most powerful Hamas leader left alive after Haniyeh's killing, an event that has raised fears of a wider regional conflict as Iran vowed to retaliate with force after his murder.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh's murder, but has accepted responsibility for the killings of other senior leaders, including Hamas vice president Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in Beirut, and Mohammed Deif, the movement's military commander.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari reacted after the announcement.
“Yahya Sinwar is a terrorist who is responsible for the most criminal act of terrorism in history – October 7. There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar: stand with Mohammed Deif and all the terrorists responsible for October 7.”
Born in a refugee camp in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Sinwar, 61, was elected leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017 after gaining a reputation as a ruthless figure and staunch enemy of Israel.
Before he was imprisoned, he was the head of the Al-Majd security apparatus, which tracked down, killed and punished Palestinians accused of collaborating with the Israeli secret service.
