5-member-hamas-panel-to-lead-ops-post-sinwar-s-death

After the death of Yahya Sinwar last week in an alleged Israeli drone attack in South Gaza, Hamas now looks to appoint 5 members as part of their ruling council to head the group.

 

The Palestinian group is now moving towards adopting the Doha-based ruling committee instead of the single successor of Yahya Sinwar.

 

Reports suggest, "The Hamas leadership's approach is not to appoint a successor to the late chief, the martyr Yahya Sinwar, until their next elections" scheduled for March "if conditions permit.”

 

As per sources, they formed a five-member committee in August following the killing of their chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, “who will now head the group.”

 

Sinwar was named the Gaza chief of Hamas in 2017, and he assumed the overall charge of the group in July after the assassination of Haniyeh.

 

The recent reports suggest that the group has formed a committee consisting of representatives of the two Palestinian territories and the community, namely Khalil al-Hayya for Gaza, Zaher Jabarin for the West Bank, and Khaled Meshaal for Palestinians abroad.

 

This also includes the head of Hamas’s Shura advisory council, Mohammed Darwish, and the secretary of the political bureau, who is never identified for security reasons.

 

As the ongoing Israeli assault continues to focus on the Hamas leadership, the group’s newly elected leadership is based in Doha, Qatar, while Hamas keeps operating in Gaza without the presence of their command head.

 

As per sources, the newly elected committee is tasked with "governing the movement during the war and exceptional circumstances, as well as its future plans."

 

“The strategic decisions related to Hamas operations in Gaza against Israeli forces will now be taken by the Qatari-based council consisting of five members,” sources told reporters.

 

“To keep the group intact in the ongoing fight against Israel, the newly elected Hamas chief overseeing the operations will remain anonymous,” said sources from the group.

 

So far, the war in Gaza has left over 42000 dead, the majority of whom being women and children. While 1200 people were also killed in Israel following the October 7 Hamas offensive last year.