Israel Vows to Eliminate New Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar as Gaza War enters 11th month

JERUSALEM: Desiring to curb terrorism, Israel has threatened to “wipe off the face of the earth” the newly recruited Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who is accused of plotting the killing of Israelis on October 7. Appointments to Sinwar leadership of the Palestinian militant group escalate regional tensions as the Gaza conflict reaches the eleventh month. 

 This is a period that Israel prepares to receive a knock from Iran over the extra-judicial execution on its turf last week – the head of the Palestinian Islamist group, Ismael Haniyeh. Addressing a military base on Wednesday, Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is willing to stand and defend itself, adding(defensively and offensively), “We are ready.” 

 Catering to this claim, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the advancement of Sinwar was “another good reason” to eliminate him as well as the Hamas organization, which he referred to as a “despicable” one. 

 Sinwar has not been public since the October 7 events, and he has been heading Hamas in Gaza since 2017; the attack caused even the most significant number of Israel’s deaths. The senior Hamas official told AFP that by electing Sinwar as a leader, the organization states that it will maintain its course of resistance. 

 Hezbollah, which is a close ally of Hamas, also congratulated Sinwar for his new position, saying that the appointment shows that Israel’s goals of eliminating leaders of Hamas through extra-judicial actions have proved to be futile. It is considered that Sinwar is, in specific ways, less inclined to accept a ceasefire as his predecessor and is in closer agreement with Tehran. 

 Rita Katz, head of the SITE Intelligence Group, claimed that studying its tactics under the influence of Sinwar, the movement would cement its militant course. At the same time, Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State of the USA, pointed out that the chances for a ceasefire mainly belong to Sinwar. 

The appointment of Sinwar has sparked some concern among citizens of both Israel and Gaza. Mohammad Al-Sharif: People may ask, ‘Is there any chance for negotiations now?’ Hanan: ‘Now that Sinwar is the head of Hamas, this means that Hamas wants to continue the battle. ’ 

 Hezbollah, whose leader Haniyeh vowed to retaliate for the deaths of Shukr, its powerful military commander, killed in an earlier Israeli air raid, has been exchanging almost daily shootouts across the border with Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened revenge in a TV address, saying that the organization may respond as part of a regional show of force coordinated by Iran. 

 Despite the increasing tensions in the region, America has moved in more destroyers and bombers in the area, basing them to urge both Israel and Iran not to increase an attack. Joe Biden, the president of the United States of America, has been in touch with leaders of the countries, including the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the State of Qatar, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, to avoid escalating such incidents. 

 The Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned French President Emanuel Macron, asserting that the West must stop resourcing Israel to avoid a large-scale war. At the same time, representatives of the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation, led by the Gambia’s Foreign minister Mamadou Tangara, currently chairing the group, urged to continue the meeting due to unceasing battle. It confirmed that the assassination of Haniyeh may stir tensions beyond the borders of the region. 

 The aid conflict between Israel and Hamas that started because of a recent bombardment by Hamas on October 7 has involved Iran-backed militants from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. The attack made by Hamas led to the killing of 1198 people, out of which the majority were civilians, and taken hostage 251, out of which 111 were held in Gaza only. In return, the Israeli operations in Gaza have led to the death of at least 39,677 people, as per the statistics of the health ministry affiliated with the Hamas group. 

 Incidentally, the situation in the Gaza Strip is still severe. The conflict is still ongoing. Meanwhile, the Israel air force keeps bombarding what it calls ‘terror targets’ all over the Gaza Strip.