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Rabat – Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar the new leader of the group’s political bureau, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassination in Tehran on July 31 in an act widely attributed to Israel.
Haniyeh, who was in Tehran to attend the swear-in ceremony of Iran’s new president, was killed by a “short-range projectile” that caused a severe explosion outside his room, according to Iran’s military. Israel has not commented on or claimed the attack.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement, succeeding the martyr Commander Ismail Haniyeh, may Allah have mercy on him,” Hamas said in a statement.
Sinwar, 61, who has been a prominent figure within Hamas for years, is seen by the Israeli government as the mastermind behind the October 7 attack.
In response to the appointment, Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, told Al-Arabiya that “there is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7th terrorists.”
He was born in a Gaza refugee camp near the southern city of Khan Younis. He founded Hamas’s Al-Majd security apparatus, and has been a significant figure in Gaza’s leadership since 2017.
Sinwar also helped establish Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades. Labelled by the US as a “specially designated global terrorist,” he is among several Hamas leaders sought for arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The news of Sinwar’s appointment came as Israel braces for a likely response attack from Iran over the killing of Haniyeh and breach of territorial sovereignty.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of Iran’s military, vowed that Israel will receive “harsh punishment in due time and place” for assassinating the Hamas leader.
In addition, Iran’s Foreign Ministry asserted the country’s “legal” and “legitimate right” to defend itself against Israel and to “punish the Zionist regime.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is “determined to stand against” Iran and its allied groups “on all fronts.”
In the wake of the anticipated attack from Iran, and possibly Hezbollah from Lebanon too, several Western countries like the US, the UK, France, and Ireland have urged their citizens to avoid traveling to the region.
