Blinken: Hope and Threat as Sinwar Takes Power in Hamas

The USA's Foreign Minister Antony Blinken says that the responsibility to accept a ceasefire in Gaza rests with Hamas' new leader Yahya Sinwar. But Israel says that Sinwar should be "eliminated".

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Blinken: Hope and Threat as Sinwar Takes Power in Hamas
Photo: Susan Walsh/AP/TT

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The USA stood firm that a ceasefire can be possible with Hamas' new political leader:

He has been and remains the primary decision-maker when it comes to reaching a ceasefire, said Blinken.

So I believe this only underscores the fact that it really is up to him to decide whether he will go ahead with a ceasefire that will obviously help so many Palestinians in desperate need.

Mastermind behind the attack

The USA's statement came a day after the terrorist-stamped Hamas appointed Sinwar as the highest political leader, after Hamas leader Ismail Haniya was killed in Iran last week.

Sinwar has previously been identified as the group's actual leader and is one of the masterminds behind the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.

He is at the top of Israel's death list in the Israeli attempts to destroy Hamas and its leadership after the terrorist attack.

The new Hamas leader Sinwar is also said to be close to Iran.

"Attack him"

Israel's military chief Herzi Halevi said in a statement to soldiers that the terrorist-stamped Hamas' new leader Yahya Sinwar is now a target for the Israeli military.

"We will fight to find him, attack him, and ensure that Hamas' political branch gets a new leader again", said Halevi according to the statement published by his spokesperson.

Unlike Haniya, who lived in exile in Qatar for several years, Sinwar has stayed in Gaza. He is believed to have directed the Palestinian warfare from underground tunnels.

Analysts believe that Sinwar has been more unwilling than Haniya to enter into a ceasefire agreement.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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