Hamas has named Yahya Sanwar as the new political head, after the killing of the previous head, Ismail Haniyeh, by Israel.
“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of leader Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement,” a statement from Hamas said.
Yahya is a Palestinian and has been serving as the head of Hamas in Gaza since 2017. He was born in 1962, in the same refugee camp as that of Ismail Haniyeh. He also studied at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Arabic Studies, same as that of Ismail Haniyeh.
Yahya Sinwar is considered as the mastermind behind the October 07 , 2023, attack on Israel.
He was arrested in 1989 for killing two Israeli soldiers and abducting five Palestinians, whom he thought had been cooperating with Israel. Later he also confessed to this crime; he had killed four. He was given four life sentences. However, in 2011, he was released as a part of prisoner exhange deal between Hamas with Israel.
