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The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has chosen a successor after the killing of its political bureau leader Haniyeh.

On August 6, Hamas issued a statement saying that Yahya Sinwar would replace Haniyeh.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz issued a statement on the evening of the 6th, saying that Sinwar must be "quickly eliminated."

A representative of the "hardline faction" who was born in a refugee camp

Hamas stressed in a statement that the organization decided to choose 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 "at a sensitive time and in a complex regional and international situation."

Sinwar is one of the main founders of Hamas' security agency and has served as Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip for many years. He is considered by the outside world to be a representative of the "hardliners" within Hamas.

Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. After graduating from Khan Yunis Boys High School, he went to Gaza Islamic University to study Arabic. During his university years, Sinwar had a close relationship with Yassin, one of the founders of Hamas. In the early 1980s, Sinwar first entered the political arena in Gaza and provided advice to Yassin. In addition, Sinwar also helped establish the "Qassam Brigades", the military wing of Hamas. According to British media reports, Sinwar's neighbor in Khan Yunis was Mohammed Dave, who is now the leader of the "Qassam Brigades".

Sinwar has many nicknames, including "The Butcher of Khan Yunis". This nickname is related to Sinwar's alleged killing of people working for Israel. According to Israeli media reports, Sinwar coordinated with Yassin to form a team whose mission was to identify "collaborators" and kill them. In 1988, Sinwar kidnapped and killed two Israeli soldiers and murdered four Palestinians he suspected of collaborating with Israel.

Arrested by Israel, served 22 years in prison

In 1989, Sinwar was arrested by Israel and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Sinwar was not idle in prison, and used this time to learn Hebrew. British media quoted a former Israeli army major as saying that Sinwar read Israeli newspapers every day and "he knows more about Israel than Israel knows about him." While serving his sentence, Sinwar also accepted an interview in Hebrew on Israeli TV, calling for a truce between Israel and Hamas.

There was another episode during Sinwal's time in prison. Former Israeli prison warden Adato once said that during his imprisonment, Sinwal underwent an operation and Israeli doctors removed an abscess in his brain, "which enabled Sinwal to survive."

Sinwar was released in 2011. His arrest earned him popularity within Hamas, and in 2017 he became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Becoming Israel’s “number one target for eradication”

People who know Sinwar say he rose to prominence in Hamas because of his ruthless, violent style. One person who has dealt with Sinwar said even Hamas officials were afraid of him when they were alone with him.

Israel has long put Sinwar on its blacklist for targeted elimination. In 2018, Israeli officials said that "Sinwar will not live long", and the Israeli army also carried out an airstrike on Sinwar's residence in Khan Yunis in 2021. Since the new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel has publicly accused Sinwar of being one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack on Israel, and regarded him as the "number one target for elimination", vowing many times to hunt him down to the end.

Hamas has multiple decentralized power centers, killing Sinwar would have "limited impact"

Zou Zhiqiang, a researcher at the Middle East Studies Center of Fudan University, said in an interview with the media that the Politburo is the core power organ of Hamas. Its leadership has a multi-member committee, which consists of political, propaganda, organizational, and military departments. Each department is relatively independent, and its personnel are divided into different types, such as public, secret, or military personnel.

"For example, the Qassam Brigades, a military faction under Hamas, and its military leaders Sinwar and Deif have always stayed in Gaza, and Hamas' political office has long been located abroad, such as in Doha, the capital of Qatar." Zou Zhiqiang believes that Hamas' organizational structure has made such divisions to adapt to the needs of the struggle.

Hugh Lovat, a senior policy researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations, believes that even if Sinwar is killed, it will be more of a "public relations victory" for Israel, but will have limited impact on Hamas. "Obviously, it will be a loss, but Sinwar will be replaced. This is different from killing Bin Laden."

Harel Jolev, a senior researcher at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, also believes that although Sinwar is a key figure in Hamas, he is not the only leader. Hamas is not a pyramid-shaped hierarchical organization, but has multiple decentralized power centers.

"Simply put, even if Israel kills Sinwar, it does not mean the collapse of Hamas. Conversely, even if Sinwar is still alive, it does not mean that Hamas will not collapse," said Jolev.

【Reactions from all parties】

US urges Sinwar to accept Gaza ceasefire

According to AFP, US Secretary of State Blinken, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz and Lebanon's Hezbollah responded on the same day to Sinwar becoming the new leader of the Hamas Politburo.

French media reported that Blinken urged Sinwar to accept the Gaza ceasefire agreement on the 6th, calling the latter the "main decider" to end the war. "He has been and remains the main decider in reaching a ceasefire agreement. So I think this only emphasizes the fact that it is really up to him to decide whether to move forward with the ceasefire, which will obviously help many Palestinians who are in urgent need."

On the same day, Katz said on social media X that he would "quickly eliminate" Sinwar. "The appointment of 'number one terrorist' Yahya Sinwar to replace Ismail Haniyeh as the new leader of Hamas is another convincing reason to quickly eliminate him and wipe this 'evil organization' off the face of the earth," Katz said.

On the other hand, Lebanon's Hezbollah congratulated Sinwar on becoming the new leader of the Hamas Political Bureau, saying that the appointment showed that "the enemy... failed to achieve its goals (by killing Hamas leaders and officials)". Hezbollah also said that this was also a "strong message" to Israel, the United States and its allies that "Hamas' decisions are united, its principles are firm, its important choices are firm, and it is determined (to continue on the path of resistance)".

【News link】

Iran: Psychological warfare is underway with Israel

On July 31, Hamas leader Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Iran believes that Israel planned and carried out the assassination and vowed to retaliate. A spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran said on August 6 that Iran has not taken any military action yet, but is conducting psychological warfare against Israel. At the same time, military institutions in many parts of Iran have recently launched military exercises.

On the 6th local time, a spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran said that Israel's assassination of Haniyeh was a sign of cowardice. Iran has not yet taken military action, so Israel does not know when and how it will be responded to, which will make Israel psychologically afraid. On the same day, Iranian media quoted a speech by the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, Nasrallah. Nasrallah said that Iran, the Houthi armed forces in Yemen and Lebanon's Hezbollah all have the determination, will and strength to respond to Israel. Israel has been waiting for a week. This is part of the psychological warfare launched by the resistance front against Israel.

In addition, on the 6th local time, Iranian Acting Foreign Minister Bagheri met with senior Hamas officials in the capital Tehran. Bagheri said that Haniyeh's death has strengthened the close relationship between Iran and Palestine, and Iran will continue to firmly support the liberation of the Palestinian people.

Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Liang Tingting compiled CCTV, Xinhua News Agency, Global Times, and Shangguan News