Yahya Sinwar named as new overall leader of Hamas

by Mick the Ram

After lengthy negotiations in Doha that went on for two days, Hamas has named Yahya Sinwar as its new overall chief, replacing Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated in Tehran following a carefully planned airstrike.

The choice of Sinwar was a unanimous decision by the Hamas leadership group, and it elevates the hardline militant to the combined top position, as he will now become leader of its political wing having served as the leader inside the Gaza strip since 2017.

Many scenarios were discussed, but ultimately just two names were put forward, with the other candidate being Mohammed Hassan Darwish, a murky figure who heads the body that elects the terror group’s Politburo.

Sinwar’s appointment has been described by the group as “a message of defiance to Israel” who have the new leader at the very top of their most-wanted list.

Israel’s security agencies believe he was the mastermind behind the 7 October 2023 attacks, which left over 1,200 people dead and 251 taken back into Gaza as hostages and sparked the war that has now been in effect for 10 months.

The 61-year-old has not been seen in public since those attacks and is believed to be hiding as much as “10 storeys underground” in Gaza.

The new leader is also high up on a blacklist created by the US of “international terrorists”.

Hardline leader

The appointment comes with tensions soaring all across the Middle East, with Iran and its allies threatening retaliation for the killing of Haniyeh, an act which they firmly lay the blame for at Israel’s door.

Insinuating that the Israelis would regret carrying out the assassination, a Hamas spokesperson said: “They killed Haniyeh, the flexible person who was open to solutions and now they have to deal with Sinwar and the military leadership.”

There is little doubt that Sinwar has been one of Hamas’ most extreme figures for a long time. He is the group’s chief decision-maker in Gaza, and it is understood that he holds control over the remaining Israeli hostages who are still in being held captive.

Four life sentences

Sinwar was born in Khan Younis refugee camp in Gaza in 1962. It was in the late eighties when he founded the Hamas security service, known as Majd, a vicious group who targeted alleged Palestinian collaborators with Israel.

He was head of their intelligence service, before spending 23 years locked up in Israeli prisons, serving four life sentences for attempted murder and sabotage.

Walks free

He was once described by a former interrogator as being “1,000% committed and 1,000% violent, a very, very hard man”.

He was able to walk free when he was part of the 1,027 Palestinian and Israeli Arab prisoner release agreement in the 2011 exchange for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive for over five years by Hamas.

Israel react with threat

In reaction to Sinwar’s appointment, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said: “There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7 terrorists and that is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him.”

Haniyeh, 62, was killed in an Israeli strike in Iran where he was briefly staying after attending the inauguration of the new president Masoud Pezeshkian.