Doha: Palestinian militant group Hamas named its Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, who is another high-profile name targeted by Israel, as its new chief after the death of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh in a suspected Israeli strike in Tehran, the group announced on Tuesday. Sinwar is believed to be the architect of the October 7 attacks on Israel and has been hiding in Gaza since the conflict began, evading numerous Israeli attempts to kill him.
"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," the movement said in a brief statement. Soon after the new leader was announced, a salvo of rockets was launched from Gaza from militants who are still fighting Israeli troops in the war-torn territory.
"The appointment means that Israel needs to face Sinwar over a solution to Gaza war," said a regional diplomat familiar with the talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar. "It is a message of toughness and it is uncompromising." The appointment of Sinwar is particularly important as he will represent the Hamas delegation at the peace talks, which have been going on for months to end the war and release 115 Israeli and foreign hostages still held in Gaza.
Who is Yahya Sinwar?
Born in a refugee camp in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Sinwar, 61, was elected as Hamas' leader in Gaza in 2017 after gaining a reputation as a ruthless enforcer among Palestinians and an implacable enemy of Israel. He has spent half his adult life in Israeli prisons, including in 1988 for murdering four Palestinians who he accused of collaborating with Israel.
As Sinwar's family was among the several thousand Palestinian Arabs who were forced to flee during the wars surrounding the creation of Israel, he had deep resentment against Israel and immediately joined Hamas when it was created in 1987. He was sentenced to consecutive life terms accused of planning the abduction and murder of two Israeli soldiers and the murder of four Palestinians.
Michael Koubi, a former Shin Bet official who interrogated Sinwar for 180 hours in prison, said he clearly stood out for his ability to intimidate and command. "He told me Hamas is my wife, Hamas is my child. Hamas for me is everything," said Koubi, when he asked Sinwar why he was not already married during the interrogation.
Koubi described Sinwar as being devoted to the destruction of Israel and to killing Jews. The senior Israeli official described him as a "psychopath", adding that "I don't think the way he grasps reality is similar to more rational and pragmatic terrorists". Yuval Bitton, a dentist who treated Sinwar, said Israeli medics removed a tumour in Sinwar's brain in 2004. "
Sinwar's role in planning Oct 7 attacks
Sinwar thought the capture of Israeli soldiers was the proven tactic for freeing Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, after he was released from Israeli jail in a prisoner swap in 2011. "For the prisoner, capturing an Israeli soldier is the best news in the universe, because he knows that a glimmer of hope has been opened for him," he was quoted by the New York Times as saying.
In December 2022, the militant leader told a rally in Gaza that the Palestinian group Hamas would deploy a "flood" of fighters and rockets against Israel, in a speech to supporters that bore the hallmarks of crowd-pleasing hyperbole. "We will come to you, God willing, in a roaring flood. We will come to you with endless rockets, we will come to you in a limitless flood of soldiers, we will come to you with millions of our people, like the repeating tide," he said in his address.
Less than a year later, hundreds of Hamas fighters broke through Israeli security and infiltrated the southern part of the country, killing 1,200 people, taking over 250 hostages and shattering Israel's reputation as an invincible enemy. Sinwar and Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif had already hatched secret plans for the October 7 assault, the deadliest day in Israel's 75-year history.
Sinwar never made a public appearance after the October 7 attacks, but directed military operations along with Deif and another commander. He also led negotiations for prisoner-hostage swaps, possibly from bunkers beneath Gaza. In the days after the attacks, Sinwar was seen by some of the captured Israelis in the tunnels, freed hostages have said.
What does this mean for ceasefire negotiations?
For Israel, the appointment confirms Hamas as a foe dedicated to its destruction and is likely to reinforce Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence that Israel must pursue its campaign in Gaza to the end. The ceasefire negotiations, after months of failure, hit a major roadblock with the assassination of Haniyeh. Now, the prospect of facing Sinwar, one of Israel's top enemies, does not bode well for the talks.
Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the movement remained committed to reaching a deal and the team that handled the negotiations under Haniyeh would continue under Sinwar, who he said was following the talks closely. Hani Al-Masri, a political analyst in Ramallah, said Sinwar's appointment to lead the movement overall was a direct challenge to Israel, and sent a message about Hamas' adherence to his "extremist and resistant approach".
“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 organisation off the face of the earth,” Israel Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, said in a post on social media on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sinwar remains the "primary decider" of a ceasefire. "I think this only underscores the fact that it is really on him, to decide whether to move forward with a ceasefire that manifestly will help so many Palestinians in desperate need; Women, children, men who are caught in the crossfire of Hamas' making in Gaza," he said.
(with inputs from Reuters)
