Israeli officials believe Mohammed Sinwar, brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed Wednesday, could be next in line for the top job, multiple Israeli media outlets reported on Friday.

Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the possible next head of the terrorist organization plaguing the Gaza Strip, but according to outlets citing the IDF, the younger brother is expected to take over political responsibilities for Hamas. 

Mohammed Sinwar, 13 years younger than his notorious brother Yahya Sinwar, was born in the Khan Younis refugee camp in 1975 after his family was originally displaced following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Growing up in the shadow of one of the founders of Hamas and his subsequent arrest in 1991 over suspected terrorist activities, enabled Mohammed Sinwar to form close ties with top officials in the terrorist organization that remain alive today, the Jerusalem Post reported. 

WHO WAS YAHYA SINWAR? THE ISRAELI PRISONER TURNED TERRORIST HAMAS LEADER KILLED BY IDF TROOPS

Despite the public’s relatively little knowledge of the younger Sinwar, his operational experience in Hamas allegedly made him one of the IDF’s most targeted terrorists of the group.

“You won’t find a key event in Hamas’s military buildup over the past 25 years in which Mohammed Sinwar wasn’t involved,” one military source told the Jerusalem Post. 

Israeli security officials reportedly said that Mohammed Sinwar is believed to be even more ruthless than his better-known older brother. Describing him as an “arch-terrorist” and pointing to his direct involvement in the torturous interrogations and deaths of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to gain knowledge of how the IDF and Shin Bet – Israel’s security agency – operate. 

“No one in Hamas understands Israel’s covert operational patterns better than him. He conducted all the interrogations himself, learning everything from start to finish,” one official told the media outlet.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi speaks with troops at the location with Hama leader Yahya Sinwar was killed.  (Israel Defense Forces)

But despite concerns over the ruthless tendencies of the expected new Hamas leader, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Friday said the death of Yahya Sinwar could be an “extraordinary opportunity to achieve a lasting ceasefire.”

“We’ll see how things evolve,” he said from a NATO summit in Brussels when asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to continue fighting in Gaza. “But clearly there are opportunities for a change in direction, and we would hope that, you know, parties would take advantage of that, both in Lebanon [and] in Gaza.”

But despite Austin’s hopeful tone and a meeting reportedly to be held Friday by Netanyahu on the 101 hostages still in Gaza, Hamas has said that the hostages will not be exchanged until Israel stops its offensive.

Israeli reports also suggested that the IDF does not believe the threat posed by Hamas will be effectively eliminated until Hama’s hierarchical structure is eliminated. 

Prior to his new role, Yahya Sinwar, shown here second from right in Gaza City in December 2022, was Hamas’ leader in Gaza.  (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

HAMAS ADMITS ‘PAINFUL, DISTRESSING’ LOSSES AFTER ISRAELI VIDEO SHOWS TERRORIST SINWAR MOMENTS BEFORE HIS DEATH

While Mohammed Sinwar is expected to take over as the next leader of Hamas, the remainder of other top officials in the terrorist organization mean that the group continues to pose a threat.

Khalil Al-Hayya, who led the indirect ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel and was reportedly in Tehran when longtime Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in July, also served as Yahya Sinwar’s deputy and is believed to remain a major player in the terrorist organization. 

Khaled Meshaal, who led Hamas between 2004 and 2017 and now resides in Qatar according to Reuters, was listed as an official potentially under consideration following the assassination of Haniyeh, though a report in August suggested that the oldest Sinwar brother was opposed to his reappointment to the top job.

A drone video released by the Israeli military shows Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar sitting on a chair in a damaged building in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, in the moments leading up to his death. (IDF)

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior official in Hamas and one of the group’s founders, was also assessed to be on the short list for the top job after Yahya Sinwar was killed. He reportedly survived two assassination attempts in 1992 and 2003, though Reuters has said that he has not been seen since the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Mohammad Shabana remains one of the most senior veteran commanders in the terrorist groups and reportedly heads a battalion in Rafah. He also played a significant role in developing the tunnels used to attack Israel during the 2006 conflict. 

Several other officials were detailed in reporting by Reuters as top Hamas officials who would be critical in dismantling the terrorist network, though neither their whereabouts nor their deaths have been officially confirmed by Hamas. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for the strengthening of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, during a visit to Beirut.

The premier decried attacks against UNIFIL, whose forces have been targeted by Israeli troops in recent weeks.

“Only by strengthening UNIFIL while maintaining its impartiality will we be able to turn the page,” Meloni said during a joint news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday.

“I repeat that I consider targeting UNIFIL is unacceptable,” she added in reference to Israeli attacks involving the mission’s positions and troops. “I ask once again that all parties strive to ensure at all times that the safety of each of these soldiers is guaranteed.”

Meloni, who is regarded as a strong ally of Israel, is the first head of state or government to visit Lebanon since an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah last month. She said that after her visit to Beirut, she would hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Italy has about 1,000 peacekeepers serving in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, which has come under repeated fire by Israeli forces.

Five peacekeepers were injured in a series of incidents last week. In the latest, the UN force accused Israeli troops of breaking through a gate and entering one of its positions.

Meloni and Mikati agreed that a diplomatic solution must take precedence over violence, Mikati said during the news conference.

“What is happening today is a lesson for all Lebanese to stay out of regional conflicts,” Mikati said.

‘Deliberate’ attacks on UNIFIL

Earlier on Friday, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said the force’s peacekeepers are maintaining their positions despite “demands” to move from the Israeli military.

“We’ve been targeted several times, five times under deliberate attack,” he said via videolink from Beirut.

Tenenti said a unanimous decision was taken by UNIFIL’s 50 contributing countries and the UN Security Council to hold its positions and continue efforts to monitor the conflict and ensure aid gets to civilians.

The Israeli military “has repeatedly targeted our positions, endangering the safety of our troops, in addition to Hezbollah launching rockets toward Israel from near our positions, which also puts our peacekeepers in danger”, he added.

Tenenti said deteriorating security in recent weeks due to the fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces had forced UNIFIL, which has about 10,000 personnel, to suspend most, but not all, of its patrols near the Lebanon-Israel border, also known as the Blue Line.

“We are seeing at the moment hundreds of trajectories, and sometimes more, crossing the Blue Line each day, forcing our peacekeepers to spend extended hours in shelters to ensure their safety, which remains our top priority,” he said.

New phase of war?

Meanwhile, fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers, who entered southern Lebanon more than two weeks ago, continued.

The Lebanese group said on Friday that it is entering a new phase in its fight against invading Israeli troops, saying its fighters are working according to “plans prepared in advance” to battle soldiers in several parts of southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah added that it has introduced new weapons over the past days.

A statement from the group’s operations room said Hezbollah’s fighters have used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones for the first time.

A short time later, the Israeli army said it was calling up an additional reserve brigade for operational missions in northern Israel.

Hezbollah also said it launched an attack “with a squadron of attack drones on gatherings of enemy soldiers in the occupied city of Safed” in northern Israel after attacks on villages in southern Lebanon.

It pledged continued “support” for the Palestinian people after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.

Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel for more than a year in solidarity with Palestinians in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip.

During that time, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said, more than 2,000 people have been killed across the country in Israeli attacks. More than 1 million people have been displaced from their towns and villages in eastern and southern Lebanon.

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