Hamas has chosen Yahya Sinwar - one of the key figures behind the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel - as the leader of the organization's political wing, according to an official announcement from Hamas on August 6.
Sinwar, who has led Hamas in Gaza since 2017, has long been considered the mastermind behind Hamas's military strategy in the region.
He will replace former political leader Ismail Haniyeh - a key negotiator in ceasefire talks with Israel - who was subject to surveillance in Iran last week.
Sinwar, 61, is the primary target of Israeli forces and is believed to be hiding in tunnels beneath the region to avoid Israeli attacks.
The selection of Sinwar as the head of Hamas's political office takes place in the context of the Middle East preparing to respond to the possibility of Iran and its allies, including Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Houthis in Yemen, attacking Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah's top commander Fuad Shukr last week.
For many years, Hamas's political leaders have often been outside of Gaza or in the occupied West Bank, creating a divided power structure. From 2007 to the outbreak of war last year, Hamas led in Gaza and the military strength of the force was concentrated there.
According to The New York Times, the selection of Sinwar to succeed Haniyeh appears to have narrowed the divide but is also uncertain because the new Hamas leader cannot leave Gaza while Israeli forces are hunting him.
Born in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Sinwar joined Hamas in the 1980s. He spent over two decades in an Israeli prison and was released in 2011, along with over 1,000 other Palestinian prisoners, in exchange for one Israeli soldier held by Hamas.
As the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Sinwar even has a greater internal influence than Hamas leader Haniyeh. Analysts say that Haniyeh is the face of Hamas's foreign diplomacy, while Sinwar controls the activities on the ground and has a close relationship with Hamas's military wing.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said that Sinwar had been unanimously chosen as the leader. According to the spokesperson, it is too early to discuss how Sinwar's selection as leader will affect ceasefire talks with Israel, but he believes there will be little change. "The negotiations are led by the leadership and Sinwar is always present," Hamdan noted.
Sinwar has not made a public statement since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Hamas attack led to Israel's 10-month-long attack on Gaza and Hezbollah's separate attacks on northern Israel to show solidarity with Hamas.
