Hamas names Yahya Sinwar as new leader after Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination

Hamas named its Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar as successor to former political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran last week, the group said on Tuesday.

Yahya Sinwar, defying Israeli attempts to kill him since the start of the war.

"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.

News of the appointment, which came as Israel braces for a likely attack from Iran following the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran, was greeted with a salvo of rockets from Gaza from the bands of militants still fighting Israeli troops in the besieged enclave.

Yahya, who spent half his adult life in Israeli prisons, was the most powerful Hamas leader left alive following the assassination of Haniyeh, which has left the region on the brink of a wider regional conflict after Iran vowed harsh retaliation.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination but it has said it killed other senior leaders, including Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in Beirut, and Mohammed Deif, the movement's military commander.

Palestinian group Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, March 26, 2024. (Photo: West Asia News Agency via REUTERS)

Born in a refugee camp in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Yahya, 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.

Israel's chief military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, blamed Yahya for the October 7 attack and said Israel would continue to pursue him.

Ceasefire talks

In a sign that the movement had united around the choice of Sinwar, Khaled Meshaal, a former leader who had been seen as a potential successor to Haniyeh, was said by senior sources in the movement to have backed Yahya "in loyalty to Gaza and its people, who are waging the battle of the Flood of Al-Aqsa".

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.

Iranians attend the funeral procession of assassinated Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, August 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Ten months since the surprise attack by thousands of Hamas-led fighters who swarmed into Israeli communities around the Gaza Strip in the early hours of the morning of October 7, the war has turned the Middle East on its head and threatened to spiral into a wider regional conflict.

Attempts at reaching a ceasefire that would give the exhausted population a respite and enable the hostages remaining in captivity to be brought home have foundered amid mutual recriminations from Hamas and Israel.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al Jazeera that the movement remained committed to reaching a deal and the team that handled the negotiations under Haniyeh would continue under Yahya, who he said was following the talks closely.

But Hani Al-Masri, a political analyst in Ramallah, said Yahya'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".