Yahya Sinwar, Mastermind Of October 7 Attack In Israel, Is New Hamas Chief, Say Reports

New Delhi: Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has said that it has chosen Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the October 7 attacks, as its new leader, AP reported on Tuesday.Hamas said in a statement on Tuesday it named Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau to replace Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran last week in a presumed Israeli strike.Sinwar has not made any public appearances since the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and took about 250 as hostages, triggering Israel's now 10-month-old campaign in Gaza.Why Hamas chose Yahya Sinwar as next chief?The choice of Sinwar, a secretive figure who leads Hamas' hardliners and is close to Iran, was a defiant step. Sinwar is at the top of Israel's kill list as it seeks to destroy Hamas and its leadership after the October 7 attack in which militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 as hostages.Hamas said in a statement it named Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau to replace Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Iran last week in a presumed Israeli strike. Also last week, Israel said it had confirmed the death of the head of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif, in a July airstrike in Gaza. Hamas has not confirmed his death.Unlike Haniyeh, who had lived in exile in Qatar for years, Sinwar has remained in Gaza. As Hamas' leader in the territory since 2017, he rarely appeared in public but kept an iron grip on Hamas' rule. Close to Deif and the armed wing, known as the Qassam Brigades, he worked to build up the group's military capabilities.Sinwar has been in deep hiding since the October 7 attacks, while Israel unleashed its campaign in Gaza and the death toll among Palestinians, now near 40,000, rose.With inputs from agencies

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Yahya Sinwar, Mastermind Of October 7 Attack In Israel, Is New Hamas Chief, Say Reports

The development has come after Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed last week, a development which further fueled Israel-Iran tensions.

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