Hamas appointed Yahya Sinwar as the group’s new political bureau chief after its previous political leader was assassinated in Tehran, elevating the hardline fighter to the organization’s top position.
Sinwar’s appointment was announced in a short statement by Hamas and broadcast in pro-Hamas Iranian state media.
Hamas military leader Sinwar, the suspected mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, is believed to be hiding out in a series of tunnels dug underground in Gaza. He is the group’s top decision-maker in Gaza and is thought to control an estimated 120 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.
Sinwar replaces Ismail Haniyeh, a former Hamas political leader who was killed in a bombing last week that both Hamas and Iranian officials blamed on Israel. The assassination came amid the inauguration of Iran’s new president, further raising fears of a larger regional war involving Iran, which backs both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Iran has promised to retaliate against Israel for any attacks on its territory.
Haniyeh was another key figure in Israel-Hamas talks over the ceasefire and was seen as a go-between for Israel and Sinwar. Haniyeh had little direct control over Hamas fighters in Gaza and was considered a relative moderate, leading the Hamas delegation to talks brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States to reach a ceasefire and hostage and prisoner release deal.
Sinwar was a founding member of Hamas and is considered the group’s most influential figure. The group’s former intelligence chief served four life sentences for attempted murder and sabotage, spending 23 years in Israeli prisons. A former interrogator described him as “a very tough man – 1,000 percent dedicated and 1,000 percent violent.”
His elevation to head of Hamas’ political wing will raise further questions about the possibility of a ceasefire agreement in the conflict.
“By selecting Sinwar to lead Hamas, the organization has revealed its true colours, erasing any disagreement between its external and internal leaders and any illusion of moderation,” Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Islamic State, wrote.
Israel has killed several key members of Hamas’ leadership, including military commander Mohammed Deif, who Hamas acknowledged was killed in an attack in July. Another top Hamas political leader, Saleh al-Louri, was killed in January.
