Hamas picks Gaza's Yahya Sinwar to replace slain political leader Ismail Haniyeh

(JTA) — Yahya Sinwar, the architect of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the highest-ranking leader of the terror group still alive, has been selected to helm Hamas’ political bureau going forward.

The group announced the selection Wednesday, a week after the assassination in Tehran of its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh is believed to have been killed by a bomb orchestrated by Israel, which had vowed to kill Hamas’ leaders wherever they could be found but has not claimed credit for Haniyeh’s death.

The move means that Sinwar, who is thought to be hiding in Gaza, has consolidated authority after a long-running tug-of-war within Hamas’ leadership. Haniyeh, who lived comfortably in exile in Qatar and interacted with world leaders, was seen as more open to ceasefire talks, though he never agreed to any deal following a brief pause in November.

Sinwar, born in 1962, came up through the ranks of Hamas’ morality police and is seen as a hardliner even within the organization. He is perceived as wielding significant authority even as he is on the run from Israeli strikes.

Sinwar learned fluent Hebrew and much about how Israel operates during two decades in an Israeli prison after he was convicted of murdering Palestinians who had collaborated with Israel. During his incarceration, he was diagnosed with and treated for a potentially fatal brain tumor. He was released in 2011 as one of more than 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners swapped for a single captured Israeli soldier and in 2017 succeeded Haniyeh as Hamas’ leader in Gaza.

Israeli officials said Sinwar’ promotion bears out the war they have been waging against Hamas since Oct. 7.

“The appointment of arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar as the new leader of Hamas, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, is yet another compelling reason to swiftly eliminate him and wipe this vile organization off the face of the earth,” tweeted Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.