A five-member Hamas committee based in Doha that was formed in August after the assassination of former political leader Ismail Haniyehwill “take over the leadership” of the Palestinian militant group, a media report said, citing sources.
Hamas decided to appoint the committee rather than choose a single leader to succeed Yahya Sinwara former head of the group who was killed by Israeli troops in Gaza last week, a source told AFP.
In 2017, Sinwar was named head of Hamas in Gaza. The mastermind of the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israelhe became the overall leader of the group after Haniyeh’s death.
Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for the killing of Haniya in Tehran on July 31, but there was no comment or confirmation from the Jewish nation.
The Hamas leadership did not want to appoint anyone to succeed the former leader, at least until the group’s next elections, scheduled for March 2025, “if conditions permit,” the source said.
The committee, which also made important decisions after Sinwar went into hiding before his death, consists of representatives Khalil al-Haya for Gaza, Zaher Jabarin for the West Bank and Khaled Mashaal for Palestinians abroad.
It also includes the head of Hamas’ Shura advisory council, Mohammed Darwish, and the secretary of the political bureau, who has never been identified for security reasons, the source told AFP.
All five members are currently based in Qatar.
The committee is “charged with the management of the movement during wartime and emergencies as well as its future plans,” the source said, adding that it is also empowered to “take strategic decisions.”
Confirming Sinvar’s death, Hamas representative Khalil al-Haya said in a video statement on Oct. 18 that the militant group was mourning the loss of its “great leader.”
Haya said the death of the former chief would help strengthen the movement, adding that his killing placed him among the “leaders and symbols of the movement that preceded him”.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out, Sinwar has been out of the public eye, fueling speculation that he is dead.
But several media reports, including one from the Washington Post, claimed he was alive and had ordered “suicide bombings.”
