By Nurat Uthman
Hamas named the alleged mastermind of the deadliest attack in Israeli history as its new leader, further inflaming regional tensions as the Gaza war entered its 11th month on Wednesday.
Yahya Sinwar’s appointment angered Israel at a time when it is bracing for potential Iranian retaliation for the killing of his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh last week in Tehran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Sinwar’s promotion was “yet another compelling reason to swiftly eliminate him and wipe this vile organisation off the face of the earth”.
Sinwar was the Palestinian militant group’s leader in Gaza since 2017. He has not been seen since the October 7 attack, after which Israel called him a “dead man walking”.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that the selection of Sinwar sent a message that the organisation “continues its path of resistance”.
Hamas’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah congratulated Sinwar. It said the appointment affirms “the enemy… has failed to achieve its objectives” by killing Hamas leaders and officials.
Analysts believe Sinwar has been more reluctant to agree to a Gaza ceasefire than Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar.
“If a ceasefire deal seemed unlikely upon Haniyeh’s death, it is even less likely under Sinwar,” according to Rita Katz, executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group.
“The group will only lean further into its hardline militant strategy of recent years,” she added.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that it was up to Sinwar to help achieve a ceasefire as he “has been and remains the primary decider”.
