On Tuesday evening, the terrorist-stamped Hamas announced that Yahya Sinwar would be appointed as the new political leader of the group.
Sinwar has previously been identified as the group's actual leader and is one of the masterminds behind the terrorist attack against Israel on October 7.
He is at the top of Israel's death list in its attempt to destroy Hamas and its leadership since the terrorist attack. He is also said to be close to Iran.
Sinwar remains in Gaza
In contrast to Haniyeh, who lived in exile in Qatar for several years, Sinwar has stayed in Gaza.
As Hamas leader in the territory since 2017, he rarely appears in public. In collaboration with Hamas' armed branch, the al-Qassam brigades, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, he worked to build up the group's military capacity.
The Israeli military said in July that there are signs that Deif was killed in an attack earlier that month on a camp outside Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
"Guilty of responding"
The appointment of the new leader comes at the same time as tensions in the Middle East are increasing after Iran and its allies promised revenge following the deaths of Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah's commander Fuad Shukr last week.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday in a televised speech that the militia group and Iran are "guilty of responding" to Israel after the deadly attacks on Shukr and Haniya – "regardless of the consequences".
He further said that Hezbollah will respond "on its own or in conjunction with a unified response from the entire axis", referring to Iran-backed groups in the region.
On Monday evening, during a meeting with the Russian Security Council's Sergey Shoigu, Iran's new president Masoud Pezeshkian said that "the Zionist regime will receive a response for its crimes."
Twelve dead on the West Bank
Twelve Palestinians have been killed and several injured in three separate Israeli raids on the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
Israel has carried out repeated attacks in the area since the war in Gaza broke out last October, and according to local health authorities, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed. At the same time, militant Palestinians have carried out several attacks against Israelis.
On Tuesday, six people from the armed group Hezbollah also died in an Israeli attack in Lebanon, according to Lebanese security sources, AFP writes.
