On August 6, local time, Hamas appointed Yahya Sinwar, the ·leader of the Gaza Strip, as their new Politburo leader, replacing Ismail · Chania, who was killed in Tehran, Iran not long ago.
"The Islamic resistance movement Hamas announced the election of commander Yahya · Sinwar as chairman of the movement's Politburo, succeeding martyr commander Ismail · Haniyeh, may Allah have mercy on him," the Islamic resistance movement Hamas said in a brief statement. ”
Such an appointment was somewhat unexpected, as it was previously reported that Mohamed · Ismail · Darwish, chairman of the Hamas Consultative Council, would serve as interim leader of Hamas until next year's elections.
Some analysts believe that this move reinforces the aggressive line taken by Hamas since its attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year. A senior Hamas official revealed that Hamas's choice of him as the leader of the organization "is sending a strong signal to the occupiers that Hamas will continue to follow the path of resistance."
Haniyeh, 62, moved to Qatar in 2017 after which he tried to change the group's image in order to gain more influence on the international stage.
Unlike Haniyeh, Sinwar remained in Gaza and is believed to have masterminded the October 7 attack on Israel in decades. Although the Israel side has been trying to find him, nothing has been found.
The October 7 attack, the worst in Israel's history, killed 1,198 people and took 251 hostages, according to AFP and official Israel data.
Sinwar is known to have last been seen on October 10 last year, when he walked through the Hamas tunnel with his family, but he has since disappeared, and even though several Hamas commanders, including military chief Mohammed · Dave, were killed by Israel forces, the Israel side just couldn't find any clues about Sinwar's hiding place.
For this reason, the Israel military has also given an argument that they believe that Sinwar is already a "walking dead".
But some experts believe Sinwar remains in Gaza, lurking in a 300-mile (482-kilometer) tunnel system. Colin · Clark, a counterterrorism expert at the Sufan Group in New York, pointed out that Sinwar has survived to this day because he maintains radio silence and uses Israel hostages and innocent Palestinians as human shields to protect himself.
Clark said that although Israel has been hunting Sinwar, he has survived for so long by staying out of the public eye, but if he is to lead the entire Hamas organization, then that may no longer be feasible. As Politburo chairman, Sinwar will coordinate the organization's leadership, not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, diaspora and Israel prisons.
Will Sinwar show up in the coming days? It is a mystery for now, but his ascension to power could spell problems in the already stalled ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, as Sinwar has repeatedly blocked compromise and urged the group to continue fighting.
Sinwar, 61, born in Khan Younis refugee camp, was arrested in 1988 and convicted of killing two Israel soldiers and four Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. Despite being sentenced to life in prison, he was released in 2011 after 23 years in prison, becoming one of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad · Shalit.