Who Is Yahya Sinwar? All About The New Chief Of Palestinian Terror Outfit Hamas

After the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on 31 July, Hamas has appointed its Gaza leaders Yahya Sinwar as the new chief of the Palestinian terror outfit.

"The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement, succeeding the martyr Commander Ismail Haniyeh," the Palestinian terror group was quoted as saying in a statement by news agency Reuters.

Sinwar has remained in hiding in Gaza since the war with Israel began in October last year.

Sinwar has spent half his life in Israeli prisons, and is the most influential Hamas leader alive following Haniyeh's death.

The 61-year-old Yahya Sinwar was born in a refugee camp in Gaza's Khan Younis. He was elected as the leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017 after he got a reputation of a ruthless enforcer and an implacable enemy of Israel.

Before his imprisonment, Sinwar headed the Al-Majd security apparatus, which was involved in punishing and executing Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel's intelligence services.

He has spent much of his life in Israeli jail - and after his third arrest in 1988 he was sentenced to four life terms in prison.

However, he was among 1,027 Palestinian and Israeli Arab prisoners released by Israel in the 2011 exchange for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive for over five years by Hamas.

The 61-year-old was appointed head of the group's political bureau in the Gaza Strip in 2017, a position he served in until now.

Sinwar currently tops Israel’s most-wanted list.

Israel's security agencies believe he masterminded the planning and execution of the 7 October 2023 attacks, which left over 1,200 people dead and 251 taken back into Gaza as hostages.

Sinwar's appointment as Hamas leader comes after Ismail Haniyeh was killed at his residence in Tehran.

Haniyeh was in Iran's capital for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

In a statement, Hamas said Haniyeh was killed in "a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in Tehran".

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