Jerusalem, Israel – The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas released a statement on 6th August, 2024, announcing that Yahya Sinwar has been appointed as the new head of Hamas, replacing Ismail Haniyeh. It is being said that Yahya Sinwar has a good grip on Hamas.
On 1st July, Hamas Chief Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed in a missile attack in Tehran. Under the leadership of Haniyeh, Hamas launched its biggest attack on Israel in 75 years on 7th October last year. More than 1,200 people died in this.
61-year-old Sinwar spent half his life in prison
The full name of the new head of Hamas is Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar. When Israel was founded in 1948 and thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their ancestral homes, Yahya Sinwar’s parents were also refugees. Sinwar was arrested in 1989 for the kidnapping and murder of 2 Israeli soldiers and 4 Palestinian civilians. Later he was sentenced to 4 life imprisonment. However, Sinwar was released in 2011 in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. By then, Sinwar had spent 22 years in prison. Yahya Sinwar was declared a terrorist by the US in 2015.