Hamas: Yahya Sinwar will replace Ismail Haniyeh as political head

Yahya Sinwar will replace Ismail Haniyeh in Hamas' operations, following his assassination in Tehran, the terror group announced in a statement on Tuesday night.

"The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas announces the selection of Commander Yahya Sinwar as the head of the political bureau of the movement, succeeding the martyr Commander Ismail Haniyeh, may Allah have mercy on him," the movement said in a brief statement. 

Sinwar spent half his adult life in Israeli prisons and was the most powerful Hamas leader left alive following the assassination of Haniyeh. 

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination of Haniyeh, but it has said it killed other senior leaders, including Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in Beirut, and Mohammed Deif, the terror group's military commander.

Sinwar has remained an elusive figure since the onset of the October 7 massacre, of which he was the primary mastermind and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war. He is reported to be hiding in tunnels in the Gaza Strip. In February, the IDF released footage of Sinwar walking through a tunnel in Khan Yunis. 

Previous reports emerged of the chaos in Hamas due to questions over who would succeed Haniyeh, including speculations that Khaled Mashal could be his replacement, Ynet reported. 

Conflicting reports about Haniyeh's successor 

Earlier on Tuesday, a senior Hamas official denied reports that a replacement for the former Hams leader was chosen, KAN reported. 

An Arab report from earlier on Tuesday stated that Mohammed Ismail Darwish was chosen to replace former Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh as the head of the terror group's political bureau. 

Following the announcement, KAN quoted IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari, who reportedly said, "There is one place we are assigning him [Yahya Sinwar] - next to Mohammed Deif." 

Reuters contributed to this report.