Yahya Sinwar Becomes the New Leader of the Political Bureau of Hamas

On August 6th, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) issued a statement saying that Yahya Sinwar has succeeded Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated a few days ago, as the leader of the Political Bureau of Hamas.

Hamas then emphasized in a statement that the organization decided to choose Yahya Sinwar as the leader of its Political Bureau after "in-depth and extensive consultations and deliberations" within its leadership body. This choice reflects Hamas' confidence in Sinwar during "sensitive periods and complex regional and international situations".

Yahya Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in Khan Yunis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. He is one of the main founders of the security agency under Hamas and has been the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip since 2017. He is regarded by the outside world as a representative of the "hardliners" within Hamas. He is considered by Israel as one of the masterminds of the attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7th last year.

Sinwar was convicted by Israel in 1988 on suspicion of killing two Israeli soldiers and was imprisoned for more than 20 years. In 2011, Sinwar was released as part of an exchange prisoner agreement between Israel and Hamas.

On July 31st, Hamas confirmed that the leader of its Political Bureau, Haniyeh, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in his residence in Tehran, the capital of Iran, in the early hours of the day.