Israel vows to ‘eliminate’ new Hamas leader as war enters 11th month

Jerusalem, Undefined – AFP

Israel vowed to “eliminate” new Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, the alleged mastermind of the October 7 attack as its war on Gaza entered its 11th month on Wednesday.

The naming of Sinwar to lead Hamas came as Israel braced for potential Iranian retaliation over the killing of his predecessor Ismael Haniyeh last week in Tehran.

Speaking at a military base on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “determined” to defend itself.

“We are prepared both defensively and offensively,” he told new recruits.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said late Tuesday that Sinwar’s promotion was “yet another compelling reason to swiftly eliminate him and wipe this vile organisation off the face of the earth”.

Sinwar — Hamas’s leader in Gaza since 2017 — has not been seen since the October 7 attack, which was the deadliest in Israel’s history.

A senior Hamas official told AFP that the selection of Sinwar sent a message that the organisation “continues its path of resistance”.

Hamas’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah congratulated Sinwar and said the appointment affirms “the enemy… has failed to achieve its objectives” by killing Hamas leaders and officials.

Analysts believe Sinwar has been both more reluctant to agree to a Gaza cease-fire and closer to Tehran than Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar.

“If a cease-fire deal seemed unlikely upon Haniyeh’s death, it is even less likely under Sinwar,” according to Rita Katz, executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group.

“The group will only lean further into its hardline militant strategy of recent years,” she added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that it was up to Sinwar to help achieve a cease-fire, saying he “has been and remains the primary decider”.