Yahya Sinwar is New Leader of Hamas After Killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran

Yahya Sinwar has emerged as the leader of Hamas, while the Palestinian group is involved in a full-blown war with Israel.

Sinwar was the Hamas movement’s Gaza chief. He takes over Hamas after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s Tehran last week.

Sinwar in the past preferred to remain in the shadows. He has spent time in Israeli prisons. He knows the internal security apparatus of Hamas in detail.

Sinwar takes charge of Hamas at a time when Ismail Haniyeh killing has escalated the tensions in the Middle East. His choice as the group’s chief is aimed at sending a strong message to Israel.

Sinwar is accused of masterminding the Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, which left 1,198 dead and 251 taken hostage

Punishing collaborators

After October 7, Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht called Sinwar the “face of evil” and declared him a “dead man walking”.

Sinwar joined Hamas when Sheikh Ahmad Yassin founded the group in 1987. Sinwar set up the group’s internal security apparatus. He headed an intelligence unit of Hamas dedicated to flushing out and mercilessly punishing — sometimes killing — Palestinians accused of providing information to Israel.

He learned perfect Hebrew during his 23 years in Israeli jails and is said to have a deep understanding of Israeli culture and society. He was serving four life terms for the killing of two Israeli soldiers when he became the most senior of 1,027 Palestinians released in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011.

Sinwar dreams of a single Palestinian state bringing together the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank — controlled by Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party — and annexed east Jerusalem.

The Hamas chief was added to the US list of the most wanted “international terrorists” in 2015.