Just a week after the assassination of its former political head, Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas has named Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar as the former’s replacement.
Haniyeh was killed in Tehran, Iran, on July 31, hours after he attended the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran has pinned the blame on Israel for carrying out the task, while it has vowed a harsh counterattack. Israel, on the other hand, hasn’t confirmed its role yet.
The 61-year-old Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar has been leading Hamas in Gaza since 2017. He is one of the main accused in the October 7 attack on Israel.
Sinwar was earlier arrested and tried by Israel for abducting and killing two Israeli soldiers and four alleged Palestinian collaborators in 1989. While he served prison sentences for 22 years, he was later released in a prisoner exchange programme, along with over 1,000 more, in 2011.
