Yahya Sinwar selection as Hamas chief surprises many in Gaza

Like many in the region who did not expect it, Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip were surprised that Yahya Sinwar, a long-time military commander seen as a hardliner, was voted to lead Hamas's political bureau, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh, who also formerly headed the Palestinian negotiating team and was assassinated by Israel in Tehran on 31 July 2024.

Yet most agree the choice is a direct response to Israel's actions of taking out Haniyeh, a relative moderate and 'civilian'.

"Sinwar's selection came with the consensus of all Hamas leaders to approve to the whole world that our movement is still a well-established Palestinian entity whose identity is resistance that is doing its best to liberate Palestine, no matter how great the sacrifices," Mahmoud Mardawi, a Turkey-based senior Hamas official, told The New Arab. 

The message to Israel, he said, was that assassinating leaders "will not cause chaos within the movement," noting that Sinwar will now be making a set of strategic decisions in the interest of the Palestinian resistance and the Palestinian people, without clarifying.

Before being chosen earlier this week, Hamas's political bureau had previously elected Sinwar as the movement's leader in Gaza twice in 2017 and 2021.

After his elevation, Sinwar, who spent nearly half his life in Israeli prisons, is now the most powerful figure in Hamas.

Israel claims that Sinwar is the main architect behind the "Al-Aqsa Flood" attack on Israeli military bases and civilian settlements within and around the Gaza envelope on 7 October 2023. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has asked for arrest warrants for him.

Since then, Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza, directly killing at least 39,700 Palestinians, while a recent Lancet report puts the total number of Palestinians killed (direct and indirect) to at least 186,000. More than 1.9 million people became displaced, according to official Palestinian data. 

A natural result of Israel's crimes

Salah Abu Shar, a Palestinian man in Deir al-Balah, believes that the appointment of Sinwar as Hamas's leader is a natural result of Israel's violence and extremism against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Abu Shar lost 25 members of his family due to Israeli attack on the area he and his family were sheltering in central Gaza.

"We lost everything in life. We need someone who will terrify Israel [even if I disagree with him politically] since it only knows the language of death, blood, and weapons," the 55-year-old father of eight remarked to TNA. 

"Sinwar's assumption of the leadership of Hamas may reduce the Israeli military aggression in the Gaza Strip, considering that extremism will only be met with more extremism, and this will push the world to ease the burden of the war, not out of love and victory for the Palestinians, but to protect Israel's interests," Abu Shar opined. 

Hussam Al-Dajani, a Gaza-based Palestinian political expert, says that the appointment of Sinwar was made as a clear messages to the world that "Israel's crimes, intransigence and extremism will only bring extremists and intransigence, especially after Israel decided to end the peace process."

According to Al-Dajani, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thwarted all diplomatic efforts to end the war, believing that he can end the existence of the armed resistance in the Gaza Strip,

"Israel decided to end the peace process by insisting on continuing the war despite all the international, Arab and humanitarian efforts to stop the bloodshed," al-Dajani said. "Therefore, the Palestinian resistance [especially Hamas] had no choice but to openly declare that it was siding with the 'Axis of Resistance' to confront Israel's plans."

For his part, Hani al-Masri, a Ramallah-based Palestinian analyst, told TNA, "There is no doubt that Sinwar represents a real terror for Israel because the Israeli leaders know in advance that he does not take any considerations into implementing what he thinks as long as it will harm Israel."

"After appointing Sinwar, we can openly declare that the war is no longer between Israel and Gaza but has turned into a regional war between the Iranian camp and the US-Israeli camp, and this is what will push the US to develop new means and methods to calm the situation in Gaza to avoid a comprehensive regional war," al-Masri said. 

"I think that Israel may prefer to reach a deal with Gaza soon to avoid more of war and losing more supporters around the world," al-Masri said. 

For its part, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad—the second-largest armed group in Gaza— published a statement on Telegram on 6 August to congratulate Hamas, saying its success in conducting internal consultations and the prompt appointment of a leader was "a strong message to the Zionist enemy that Hamas was still strong and cohesive".

Similarly, the Palestinian Resistance Committee said in a statement that Sinwar's appointment was "a huge blow" to Israel and a response to Haniyeh's assassination.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority (PA) officials in the occupied West Bank have yet to publicly speak on the appointment of Sinwar and media platforms liked to the PA have remained more or less silent. 

For some, anxiety for the future

Khitam al-Taramsi, a Palestinian woman, was overcome by fear and anxiety as soon as she learned of Sinwar's appointment as head of Hamas.

"I'm scared that the war would continue for a long time after this appointment. We all know that Sinwar is an extreme and stubborn person who will never accept concessions, even if Israel kills all the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," the 42-year-old mother of four opined to TNA. 

Khitam lost three of her sons in an Israeli bombardment that targeted her home in the Nuseirat camp a month ago. She was forced to flee to Mawasi, Khan Younis, and sought shelter with her family in temporary tents set up in that area.

"We are living the worst nightmare that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have ever experienced (...) We are the ones paying the highest price, not the Palestinian factions," she said. 

"I still do not know what the goal of the war, the death, and the destruction is, and who benefits from all this madness?" she added.