Important Takeaways:
- Hamas announced Tuesday that it had named Gaza-based leader Yayha Sinwar as its new leader to replace political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran, Iran, last week while attending the presidential inauguration there.
- Sinwar, who is regarded as the architect of the October 7 terror attack in which Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis, is thought to be hiding underground in a tunnel in Gaza, possibly surrounded by Israeli hostages as human shields.
- The Times of Israel reports:
- Sinwar “is now the most powerful figure in Hamas, formally too,” notes Palestinian affairs analyst Ohad Hemo on Channel 12. “That was already essentially the case, now it’s official.”
- “It’s a show of faith” by the terror group, “whose leadership is rapidly shrinking,” adds Hemo, “and it returns the formal center of Hamas power to Gaza,” whereas in recent years much of the official leadership was overseas — including Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal.
- One advantage Sinwar has over his predecessor is that he is actually in Gaza, not in a five-star hotel in Doha, Qatar, or in a villa in Turkey. Many other Hamas leaders have become billionaires in exile, exploiting aid and smuggling.
- The choice of Sinwar also presents risks for the terror group: Israel could locate him at any moment, and he cannot easily communicate with the rest of the organization. If he is killed or captured, Hamas will again be leaderless.
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