The assassination of Hamas' political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, was not the first of its kind, as it followed other assassinations of prominent leaders. In this context, it now appears that Yahya Sinwar is the de facto leader of the movement. The 61-year-old Sinwar is among the main targets sought by Israel, which has set a reward of $400,000 for his capture, according to U.S. network ABC News.
Stephen Ganyard, a retired Marine colonel and former deputy assistant secretary of state, stated: "The real man they want to get is Sinwar, who is somewhere in a tunnel in Gaza, still managing operations within the sector."
Over the course of two consecutive days, the deaths of Haniyeh, Hamas' military wing leader Mohammed Deif, and Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr were announced. Ganyard noted that "the assassination of senior Hamas leaders has allowed Sinwar to take charge of the movement at a time when negotiations involving the White House were underway to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of remaining hostages."
He added, "So Sinwar is the right man; he can still conduct negotiations and will have to agree to any ongoing negotiations." He also expressed expectations that Haniyeh's assassination might suspend ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas as Iran decides how to respond to Haniyeh’s killing on its territory.
