GAZA – Hamas’ choice of a hardline political leader did little to comfort Gazans displaced, hungry, and seeking a way out of their misery after nearly 10 months of war on Wednesday. The Palestinian militant group appointed Yahya Sinwar to lead its political bureau on Tuesday, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in an attack Iran blamed on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

The move consolidates power within the organization under Sinwar, who until this week was the head of Hamas in Gaza. Sinwar, a hardened militant with many years spent in an Israeli prison, is viewed as less compromising in dealings with Israel and closer to Iran than his predecessor. He is accused by Israel of being the mastermind of the October 7 attack and believed to be hiding in a tunnel in Gaza.

“I’m surprised about this move,” said Hatem Mohammed, 47, a Gaza-based retired civil servant for the Palestinian Authority that is run by Fatah, a rival party to Hamas. “It’s a hasty, irrational and reactionary move in response to Haniyeh’s assassination. They (Hamas) know internally that he’s not fit for the job. He’s an emotive and hasty person.”

“This appointment sends a message that the war will continue. I don’t know what they were thinking,” said Mohammed, who said he lost five members of his family in the war and suffers from infection brought about by food poisoning. Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 39,000 people in the enclave, according to the Palestinian authorities. Sinwar, meanwhile, is believed by US officials to be deep underground, possibly surrounded by Israeli hostages as human shields.

Sinwar’s appointment has cast uncertainty on the fate ceasefire talks with Israel that would also see Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners released. He is hard to reach, is considered more hardline than Haniyeh, and is seen as being less vulnerable to pressure from Arab nations than Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar. (CNN)…[+]