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Hamas names Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, as its new leader in show of defiance

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Hamas names Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, as its new leader in show of defiance
News

News

Hamas names Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, as its new leader in show of defiance

2024-08-07 13:26 Last Updated At:13:31

BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader in a dramatic sign of the power of the Palestinian militant group's hardline wing after his predecessor was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran.

The selection of Sinwar, a secretive figure close to Iran who worked for years to build up Hamas' military strength, was a defiant signal that the group is prepared to keep fighting after 10 months of destruction from Israel's campaign in Gaza and after the assassination of Sinwar's predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, standing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader in a dramatic sign of the power of the Palestinian militant group's hardline wing after his predecessor was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran.

Palestinians mourn the victims of an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn the victims of an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A wounded Palestinian arrives at a hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A wounded Palestinian arrives at a hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian man carries an injured child after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian man carries an injured child after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian walks on a smoke-filled street after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian walks on a smoke-filled street after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians stand in rubble after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians stand in rubble after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

FILE - Yahya Sinwar chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

FILE - Yahya Sinwar chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

It is also likely to provoke Israel, which has put him at the top of its kill list after the Oct. 7 attack, in which militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took about 250 as hostages.

The announcement comes at volatile moment. Fears are high of an escalation into a wider regional war, with Iran vowing revenge against Israel over Haniyeh's killing and Lebanon's Hezbollah threatening to retaliate over Israel's killing of one of its top commanders in an airstrike in Beirut last week. American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to salvage negotiations over a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza, shaken by Haniyeh' killing.

Hamas said in a statement it named Sinwar as the new head of its political bureau to replace Haniyeh, who was killed in a blast that Iran and Hamas blamed on Israel. Israel has not confirmed or denied responsibility. Also last week, Israel said it had confirmed the death of the head of Hamas’ military wing, Mohammed Deif, in a July airstrike in Gaza. Hamas has not confirmed his death.

In reaction to the appointment, Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya televsion, “There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the October 7th terrorists. That is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him.”

Israel's killings of multiple senior officials in Hamas over recent months left Sinwar as the most prominent figure in the group. His selection signals that the leadership on the ground in Gaza — particularly the armed wing known as the Qassam Brigades — has taken over from the leadership in exile, which has traditionally maintained the position of the overall leadership to navigate relations with foreign allies and diplomacy.

Haniyeh, who had lived in self-imposed exile in Qatar since 2019, had played a direct role in negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza through U.S., Qatari and Egyptian negotiators — though he and other Hamas officials always ran proposals and positions by Sinwar.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera television after the announcement, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said Sinwar would continue the cease-fire negotiations.

“The problem in negotiations is not the change in Hamas,” he said, blaming Israel and its ally the United States for the failure to seal a deal.

But he said said Sinwar's selection was a sign the group's will had not been broken. Hamas “remains steadfast in the battlefield and in politics," he said. "The person leading today is the one who led the fighting for more than 305 days and is still steadfast in the field.”

Hamas' allies Iran and Hezbollah issued statements praising Sinwar's appointment.

Hamas' representative in Iran, Khaled Kaddoumi, called Sinwar a “consensus choice” popular among all factions and involved in the group’s decision-making throughout, including in negotiations. In a voice message to the AP, he said Sinwar knows the political aspirations of the Palestinians for a state and the return of refugees but he is also a “fierce fighter on the battlefield.”

Mediators have been struggling to push through a U.S.-backed outline for a deal, but talks have hit obstacles, particularly over its centerpiece terms — a release of all of Hamas' remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Hamas has demanded guarantees from mediators that an initial cease-fire will continue until terms for that exchange are worked out. Israeli leaders have threatened to resume fighting to eliminate Hamas after an initial partial hostage release.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sinwar “has been and remains the primary decider when it comes to concluding the cease-fire.”

He said Sinwar must “decide whether to move forward with a cease-fire that manifestly will help so many Palestinians in desperate need, women, children, men who are caught in a crossfire … It really is on him.”

As Hamas' leader inside Gaza since 2017, Sinwar rarely appeared in public but kept an iron grip on Hamas' rule over the territory. Close to Deif and Qassam Brigades, he worked to build up the group's military capabilities.

In one of his few appearances, Sinwar ended a public speech in Gaza by inviting Israel to assassinate him, proclaiming, “I will walk back home after this meeting.” He then did so, shaking hands and taking selfies with people in the streets.

He has been in deep hiding since the Oct. 7 attacks, which triggered Israel's campaign of bombardment and offensives aimed at destroying Hamas. The death toll among Palestinians is now nearing 40,000, most of the population of 2.3 million has been driven from their homes, and large swaths of Gaza's towns and cities have been destroyed. In May, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court sought an arrest warrant against Sinwar on charges of war crimes over the Oct. 7 attack, as well as against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's defense minister for war crimes.

Hugh Lovatt, an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the European Council on Foreign Relations. said the elimination of other top figures cleared the way for Sinwar. “Two weeks ago, few would have expected Sinwar to be the group’s next leader despite the strong influence he exerts from Gaza,” he said.

The killing of Haniyeh, a relative moderate, “not only opened the path for Sinwar to claim full control of Hamas, but also appears to have tipped the group into a more hardline direction,” he said.

——

Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, standing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, standing with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, speaks during a news conference at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Palestinians mourn the victims of an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians mourn the victims of an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A wounded Palestinian arrives at a hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A wounded Palestinian arrives at a hospital after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian man carries an injured child after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian man carries an injured child after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian walks on a smoke-filled street after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian walks on a smoke-filled street after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians stand in rubble after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians stand in rubble after an Israeli airstrike in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

FILE - Yahya Sinwar chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

FILE - Yahya Sinwar chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump's fourth scheduled stop in eight days in Wisconsin is a sign of his increased attention as Republicans fret about the former president's ability to match the Democrats' enthusiasm and turnout machine.

“In the political chatter class, they’re worried," said Brandon Scholz, a retired Republican strategist and longtime political observer in Wisconsin who voted for Trump in 2020 but said he is not voting for Trump or Democratic nominee Kamala Harris this year. “I think Republicans are right to be concerned.”

Trump's latest rally was planned for 2 p.m. Central time Sunday in Juneau in Dodge County, which he won in 2020 with 65% of the vote. Jack Yuds, chairman of the county Republican Party, said support for Trump is stronger in his part of the state than it was in 2016 or 2020. “I can’t keep signs in,” Yuds said. “They want everything he’s got. If it says Trump on it, you can sell it.”

Wisconsin is perennially tight in presidential elections but has gone for the Republicans just once in the past 40 years, when Trump won the state in 2016. A win in November could make it impossible for Harris to take the White House.

Trump won in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Clinton by fewer than 23,000 votes and lost to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 by just under 21,000 votes.

On Tuesday, Trump made his first-ever visit to Dane County, home to the liberal capital city of Madison, in an effort to turn out the Republican vote even in the state's Democratic strongholds. Dane is Wisconsin’s second most-populous and fastest-growing county; Biden received more than 75% of the vote four years ago.

“To win statewide you’ve got to have a 72-county strategy,” former Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, said at that event.

Trump’s campaign and outside groups supporting his candidacy have outspent Harris and her allies on advertising in Wisconsin, $35 million to $31 million, since she became a candidate on July 23, according to the media-tracking firm AdImpact.

Harris and outside groups supporting her candidacy had more advertising time reserved in Wisconsin from Oct. 1 through Nov. 5, more than $25 million compared with $20 million for Trump and his allies.

The Harris campaign has 50 offices across 43 counties with more than 250 staff in Wisconsin, said her spokesperson Timothy White. The Trump campaign said it has 40 offices in the state and dozens of staff.

Harris rallied supporters in Madison in September at an even that drew more than 10,000 people. On Thursday, she made an appeal to moderate and disgruntled conservatives by holding an event in Ripon, the birthplace of the Republican Party, along with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of Trump’s most prominent Republican antagonists.

Harris and Trump are focusing on Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, the “blue wall” states that went for Trump in 2016 and flipped to Biden in the next election.

While Trump’s campaign is bullish on its chances in Pennsylvania as well as Sunbelt states, Wisconsin is seen as more of a challenge.

“Wisconsin, tough state,” said Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita, who worked on Republican Sen. Ron Johnson’s winning reelection campaign in 2022.

“I mean, look, that’s going to be a very tight — very, very tight, all the way to the end. But where we are organizationally now, comparative to where we were organizationally four years ago, I mean, it’s completely different,” LaCivita said.

He also cited Michigan as more of a challenge. “But again, these are states that Biden won and carried and so they’re going to be brawls all the way until the end and we’re not ceding any of that ground.”

The candidates are about even in Wisconsin, based on a series of polls that have shown little movement since Biden dropped out in late July. Those same polls also show high enthusiasm among both parties.

Mark Graul, who ran then-President George W. Bush’s 2004 campaign in Wisconsin, said the number of campaign visits speaks to Wisconsin’s decisive election role.

The key for both sides, he said, is persuading infrequent voters to turn out.

“Much more important, in my opinion, than rallies,” Graul said.

Associated Press writers Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, and Jill Colvin in Butler, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign event at Dane Manufacturing, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Waunakee, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign event at Dane Manufacturing, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Waunakee, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Dane Manufacturing, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Waunakee, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Dane Manufacturing, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Waunakee, Wis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign event Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign event Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Prairie du Chien, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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