Israel has vowed to kill Hamas's new political leader, with an Israel Defense Forces official saying he only belongs alongside the group's slain military commander and the rest of the “October 7 terrorists.”
Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas official in Gaza and one of the masterminds of the massacre that sparked the war between Israel and Hamas, has become Hamas's new political chief following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Iran.
“There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and that is alongside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7 terrorists,” Israel Defense Forces Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in an interview with Saudi news channel Al-Arabiya, according to The Associated Press.
Israel claims to have killed Deif, head of Hamas's military wing and another mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, in a strike in southern Gaza last month. Hamas has not confirmed Deif's death.
Hamas names Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, as its new leader after the assassination of Haniyeh
Yahya Sinwar, pictured here second from right in Gaza City in December 2022, was previously the leader of Hamas in Gaza. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“Yahya Sinwar is a terrorist, responsible for the most brutal terrorist attack in history: October 7,” Hagari added during the interview with Al-Arabiya.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Sinwar has the power to ensure a ceasefire agreement is reached in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Sinwar “has been and remains primarily responsible for the conclusion of the ceasefire, so I think this just underscores the fact that it's really up to him to decide whether to move forward with a ceasefire that will clearly help so many Palestinians who desperately need it, women, children and men who are caught in the crossfire,” Blinken said. “It's really up to him.”
ISRAEL SAYS IT HAS KILLED SENIOR HAMAS MILITARY COMMANDER MOHAMMED DEIF
Yahya Sinwar has become the new political chief of Hamas following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, pictured above, last week in Tehran, Iran. (AP Agency)
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has previously called Deif the “Osama bin Laden of Gaza.”
“Deif operated side by side with Yahya Sinwar and, during the war, commanded Hamas's terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip by issuing orders and instructions to senior members of Hamas's military wing,” the IDF said earlier this month in announcing his death.
An undated photograph of Mohammad Deif, whom Israel says it killed during the war in Gaza. (Reuters)
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During the attack on October 7, Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and kidnapped 251 hostages in the Gaza Strip. Sinwar is believed to still be hiding in Gaza.
Fox News' Scott McDonald, Chris Pandolfo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
