Sinwar's appointment as Hamas political bureau chief ‘surprising’: Israeli media

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - The appointment of Yahya Sinwar as the head of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas's political bureau is both a surprise and a message to Israel that he is alive, the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority, KAN, said late Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Hamas announced that Sinwar, 61, would succeed Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated last week by a strike on his residence during a visit to the Iranian capital, Tehran.

While Iran and Hamas accused Tel Aviv of Haniyeh’s assassination, Israel has remained silent, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at Israeli involvement.

Roi Kais, the Arab affairs correspondent for KAN News, said in the evening news program that “in reality, this (Sinwar's selection) is a surprise just a week after Haniyeh's assassination.”

Kais believes Sinwar’s appointment sends “a message from Hamas that he is alive, despite being hunted by Israel, and that Hamas's leadership in Gaza remains strong and intends to stay in power.”

Ehud Yaari, the Middle East affairs analyst for Channel 12, noted that Sinwar’s appointment has symbolic significance in affirming his position within the movement.

However, he argued that “it has no practical significance at this stage, as Sinwar faces difficulties in communicating with the rest of the leadership,” in his view.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, in a statement, considered Sinwar’s selection “a strong message to the Zionist enemy and the US that Hamas is united in its decision.”

The statement added that this appointment “confirms that the enemy’s goals of killing leaders and officials have failed to achieve their objectives.”

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said in a recorded message that Sinwar's appointment to lead Hamas's political bureau “reaffirms the unity of the movement and its awareness of the dangers it faces.”

He said the decision also demonstrates that “Israeli assassination policies will not succeed in breaking the resistance.”

Before his latest appointment, Sinwar was elected as the leader of the movement in Gaza in 2017 and re-elected in 2021.

Sinwar is the most wanted Hamas leader by Israel, with Tel Aviv accusing him of masterminding the group’s Oct. 7 cross-border attack last year which prompted Israel to launch a devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 39,600 people, according to local health authorities.

Ten months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio