JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - Hamas' senior leader in the Gaza strip, Yahya Sinwar has been named the new political head of the Palestinian militant outfit. He replaces Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in an airstrike in Iranian capital Tehran last week.
The new leadership is announced at a time tensions mount in the Middle East following high-profile assassinations blamed on Israel.
Threats of retaliation from Iran for the killing of key leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, and escalation of Hezbollah-Israel hostilities around Israeli-Lebanese border are feared to worsen to another full-fledged war in the region.
Iran has vowed to retaliate for the assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh and Iran-backed Hezbollah's senior military commander Fuad Shukri, who was killed in Beirut last week.
The assassination of Haniyeh, a key Hamas representative in talks for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, was the biggest blow to the organization in recent times.
It also threw the ongoing negotiations to uncertainty.
While Haiyeh was widely seen as relatively more pragmatic and moderate leader of Hamas, 61-year-old Yahya Sinwar is viewed as one of its most extreme figures.
Sinwar had been jailed in Israel for orchestrating the abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinians until his release in a 2011 prisoner exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
In 2017, he was elected the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, succeeding Ismail Haniyeh.
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