Yahya Sinwar appointed as the new leader of Hamas after Ismail Haniyeh was killed

Jakarta –

Hamas Named Yahya Sinwar as its new political leader. His predecessor Ismail Haniyeh is known to have been killed in Tehran.

Reported AFP, Wednesday (7/8/2024), Israeli military and officials accused Sinwar of being one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on Israel. Sinwar became one of Israel’s most wanted militants.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announced the election of its leader Yahya Sinwar as head of the movement’s political bureau,” said a statement from the group.

Minutes after the announcement, Hamas’ armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said it had fired a barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Sinwar’s appointment as the new head of Hamas came less than a week after Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. Iran and Hamas blame Israel for the murder. Israel refused to comment on the killing.

A senior Hamas official told AFP that by choosing Sinwar, the group sent a strong message to Israel that Hamas was continuing its path of resistance.

The official said on condition of anonymity that the killing of Haniyeh, who believed in reaching a cease-fire agreement​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ and exchange of prisoners, forced Hamas to choose a leader to lead the fight and struggle against the an enemy

As a result of Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, 1,198 people died, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

(Azh/Azh)