Middle East Conflict - Israel's number one enemy is the new head of Hamas.
He is considered the mastermind behind the unprecedented attack in southern Israel on October 7th: barely a week after the killing of Hamas' external chief, Ismail Haniyeh, the Islamist terror group has appointed Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yahya al-Sinwar, as the new leader of the organization. This was announced on the Telegram platform by Hamas. He is now the head of the political bureau of Hamas, it said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz described Sinwar as "the ultimate terrorist." His appointment, Katz wrote on the X platform, is "another compelling reason to quickly eliminate him and wipe this despicable organization off the face of the earth."
Sinwar is at the top of Israel's most wanted list. His whereabouts are unknown, believed to be hiding in Hamas' tunnels under the sealed coastal region. There has been no public appearance by him since October 7th. His predecessor, Haniyeh, resided in Qatar's capital, Doha, and was considered Hamas' chief diplomat.
Haniyeh was killed last week in a guesthouse of the Iranian government in Tehran, where he was attending the inauguration of new Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian. Iran and Hamas blame Israel for the attack and threaten retaliation.
Boycott of Peace Talks Threatened?
The election of a man as the new Hamas leader, who is considered Israel's public enemy number one, will likely make efforts for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons even more difficult.
Reactions from Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were mixed. "This means the death of the political process and peace talks," said a resident of Beit Hanun in northern Gaza. "I don't know how Hamas dared to choose the biggest extremist in the movement." A Palestinian in southern Khan Yunis saw Sinwar's rise as a "logical result" after Israel rejected all proposals for a negotiated solution.
Al-Sinwar Tied to Hamas for Years
Sinwar spent more than two decades in Israeli prisons, where he learned fluent Hebrew. He was released in 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange for an Israeli soldier and became a member of Hamas' political bureau in Gaza in April 2012. He rose to the top in internal elections in 2017, also strengthening the militant wing of Hamas.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague requested an arrest warrant for Sinwar, Haniyeh, and Sinwar's deputy, Mohammed Deif, in May. He accused the Hamas leaders of crimes against humanity, including "ethnic cleansing," murder, hostage-taking, rape, and torture.
Sinwar belongs to the founding generation of Hamas. He was born in 1962 in the refugee camp of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. His family comes from the coastal city of Ashkelon, now on Israeli territory.
"The Butcher of Khan Yunis"
Sinwar's former deputy, Deif, commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades and thus the military wing of Hamas, was the target of an Israeli missile strike in July. Israel had declared him dead last week. Haniyeh, in turn, was killed last week in an assassination attempt in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
When the Hamas formed during the first Palestinian uprising, the Intifada, in the late 1980s, fighting against Israeli occupation, Sinwar was also involved in building the military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades. In the early years of the Islamic movement, Sinwar was responsible for combating suspected collaborators with Israel within their ranks. His methods were so brutal that he earned the nickname "The Butcher of Khan Yunis".
Fears of a counterattack grow
Currently, the Israeli military is on high alert. The country expects a retaliatory strike from Iran and its allies in the region, including the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Tehran had threatened a "harsh punishment" for Israel after the attack on Haniyeh.
Israel can count on the support of the USA and other allies to intercept Iranian and proxy group missiles, cruise missiles, and drones using advanced defense systems.
In the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist groups in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, around 1,200 people were killed and 250 more were abducted to the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has been at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, countless Palestinian civilians have also been killed in the fighting. As a result, Israel faces global criticism.
The international community is expressing concern over the election of Yahya al-Sinwar as the new Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, given his history of violence and alleged war crimes, as highlighted in the report by the International Criminal Court.
The escalation of tensions in the Gaza Strip, following the appointment of al-Sinwar, has prompted neighboring countries to reinforce their border security, fearing potential retaliatory attacks from Hamas or its allies.
