The Islamic Resistance Movement, more commonly known as Hamas, has named Yahya Sinwar as its new leader following the recent assassination of former leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Sinwar's appointment was announced in a brief statement by the Palestinian militant group. He has served as the group's leader in Gaza since 2017.
Israel claims that Sinwar was the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of southern Israel, in which Hamas killed an estimated 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. The attack triggered the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, this conflict has killed at least 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Sinwar, 61, who Israel claims was behind "the most devastating attack" on the country in decades, has been in hiding in Gaza.
Born in a refugee camp in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis, Sinwar has spent nearly half his adult life in Israeli prisons. He was elected as Hamas' military leader in Gaza in 2017 after he became known as a ruthless enforcer among Palestinians and a determined enemy of the Israeli state.
Hamas announced the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar in a brief statement, saying that he succeeds the "martyr" Commander Ismail Haniyeh. (Related: Congress orders State Department to cover up Israel’s war crime death toll.)
According to a regional diplomat who knows about the ceasefire talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar, the appointment means that "Israel needs to face Sinwar over a solution to Gaza war." The diplomat added that it is an "uncompromising" message of "toughness."
Sinwar is now the most powerful Hamas leader alive following Haniyeh's death. The former leader's death left the region on the brink of a wider regional conflict after Iran vowed revenge.
While Israel has not claimed responsibility for Haniyeh's assassination, the country has claimed that it killed other senior leaders, including Saleh al-Arouri, a Hamas deputy leader who was killed in Beirut, and Mohammed Deif, the group's military commander.
White House declines to comment on Sinwar's appointment
Israeli Defense Forces chief military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Sinwar was behind the Oct. 7 attack and that Israel would continue to target him. According to a statement released by the military, Hagari has claimed that there is only one place for Sinwar, and that is "beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the Oct. 7 terrorists."
Senior sources in Hamas have said that Khaled Meshaal, a former leader being eyed as a potential successor to Haniyeh, has backed Sinwar "in loyalty to Gaza and its people, who are waging the Battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa."
The White House declined to comment on Sinwar's appointment.
According to someone familiar with Washington's thinking, the appointment of Hamas' new leader suggests that the group could toughen its position in ceasefire negotiations and make it more difficult to reach a deal.
The insider said Israel already knew even before his formal appointment that Sinwar would have the final word on any agreement to end the war, and the announcement set the seal on the matter.
It has been 10 months since the start of the Israel-Palestine war, where thousands of Hamas-led fighters snuck into Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip early on Oct. 7. The ongoing war has pushed the Middle East close to a wider regional conflict.
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