Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz calls for the "swift elimination" of Yahya Sinwar, who has been appointed by Hamas as the new political leader of the armed group, succeeding Ismail Haniya, who was killed in Tehran last week.

Katz stated in a post on the social media platform X: "The appointment of the terrorist Yahya Sinwar as the new leader of Hamas, succeeding Ismail Haniya, is yet another compelling reason to eliminate him quickly and wipe this evil organization off the face of the earth."

The spokesperson for the Israeli military also commented on Yahya Sinwar's appointment as the new leader of Hamas, saying, "There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar, and that is alongside Mohammed Deif and the rest of the terrorists from October 7. That is the only place we are preparing and intending for him," in reference to the top military commander of Hamas who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said that Sinwar will continue negotiations for the hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.

He emphasized that "the problem in the negotiations is not the change in Hamas," blaming Israel and its ally the United States for the failure to strike a deal.

But he states that Hamas is "steadfast on the battlefield and in politics... those who are leading today are those who have led the fight for over 305 days and are still resilient in the field."