Hamas announced on Tuesday that it has chosen Yahya Sinwar as its new leader, following the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.
Hamas said in a statement that it has named Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of leader Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement,” a statement from the group said.
Minutes after the announcement, Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired a barrage of rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.
Sinwar is currently leading Hamas’ military operation in Gaza and according to AP, was the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks in Israel.
He has not made any public appearances since the attack, and his location in Gaza is currently unknown.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar’s selection as Hamas’s new political leader sends a “strong message… of resistance” to Israel.
The choice is “a strong message to the occupation (Israel) that Hamas continues its path of resistance”, the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.
The deputy spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense told “Sky News”: “We have no comment on the choice of Sinwar as Hamas leader.”
She added: “the movement of our forces in the region is a message of deterrence,” asserting that “we will stand by Israel if Iran attacks it.”
She also stressed that “we do not want a regional war, and we want to achieve a ceasefire to reduce tensions”.
Commenting on the decision, the Palestinian Fatah movement said: “Hamas’s choice of Sinwar to replace Haniyeh is an internal matter for the movement.
The Israeli army, for its part, described Sinwar as a “wanted terrorist.”
