Israel vows to ‘eliminate’ new Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar

Israel has vowed to kill new Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar as the regional tensions threatening to boil over with the Gaza war entered its 11th month.

Yesterday, Yahya Sinwar was named as the Palestinian group chief. Israel braced for possible Iranian retaliation over the killing of Ismail Haniyeh last week in Tehran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a military base, said that Israel was determined to defend itself. He added:”We are prepared both defensively and offensively.”

Besides, Army chief Lt Gen Herzi Halevi vowed to find him (Sinwar), attack him and force Palestinian group to find another leader.

Earlier, Hamas has chosen slain Ismail Haniyeh’s successor, Yahya Sinwar as its top leader of the group.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated with a “short-range projectile in Tehran on July 31.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement, succeeding the martyr Commander Ismail Haniyeh, may [God] have mercy on him,” the group said in a brief statement.

Israel believes, the 61-year-old is the mastermind being the October 07 attack by Hamas, which left over 1,100 people killed and move then 200 other taken captive.

In retaliation, Israel has nearly killed 40,000 Palestinians, with mostly women and children, and displaced almost entire 2.3 million population in Gaza, causing a widespread humanitarian crises in the region.

Haniyeh’s assassination sent shockwaves through the region and sabotaged the efforts to negotiate a ceasefire.

Analysts have said his replacement by Sinwar, who has gone largely unseen since the October 7 attack was an indicator of the central place that Gaza occupies in the group’s political vision.