Hamas names Yahya Sinwar, architect of 7 October attack, as new leader

Sinwar was released as part of a swap in which Israel traded 1,000 prisoners in 2011 in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who had been captured five years earlier by Hamas. Sinwar quickly returned to militancy and said he had concluded that capturing Israeli soldiers was the key to freeing prisoners from Israel.

The policy of killing top Hamas leaders, including those from the more moderate political wing, has led to rising tensions between the US president, Joe Biden, and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden last week told Netanyahu during a phone call that the Israeli PM was intentionally sabotaging efforts to conclude a ceasefire, according to the New York Times and other US media. Netanyahu argued that the assassination in Teheran would temporarily delay negotiations, but would ultimately lead to a ceasefire more quickly by putting pressure on Hamas.