A five-member Doha-based Hamas committee, which was fashioned in August following the assassination of former political chief Ismail Haniyeh, will “assume management” of the Palestinian militant group, a media report mentioned citing sources.
Hamas determined to nominate the committee somewhat than elect a single chief to succeed Yahya Sinwar, the group’s former head killed by Israeli troops in Gaza final week, a supply informed AFP.
In 2017, Sinwar was named head of Hamas in Gaza. Mastermind of the Hamas assault on Israel in October 2023, he grew to become the group’s general chief after Haniyeh’s loss of life.
Iran and Hamas blamed Israel for killing Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, however there was no remark or affirmation from the Jewish nation.
The Hamas management has not wished to call anybody to succeed the previous chief, no less than till the group’s subsequent elections scheduled for March 2025 “if situations allow,” the supply mentioned.
The committee, which additionally made vital choices after Sinwar went underground earlier than his loss of life, consists of representatives Khalil al-Haya for Gaza, Zaher Jabarin for the West Financial institution and Khaled Mashaal for Palestinians overseas.
Additionally they embody the pinnacle of Hamas’ Shura advisory council, Mohammed Darwish, and the secretary of the political bureau, who isn’t recognized for safety causes, the supply informed AFP.
All 5 members are at present primarily based in Qatar.
The committee is “tasked with governing the motion throughout the struggle and in distinctive circumstances, in addition to its future plans,” the supply mentioned, including that it’s also approved to “make strategic choices.”
Confirming Sinwar’s loss of life, Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya mentioned in a video assertion on October 18 that the militant group was mourning the lack of its “nice chief.”
Hayya mentioned the previous chief’s loss of life would assist strengthen the motion, including that his assassination had positioned him amongst “the leaders and symbols of the motion that preceded him.”
Because the struggle broke out between Israel and Hamas, Sinwar had been out of public view, fueling hypothesis that he was useless.
However a number of media studies, together with one from the Washington Publish, claimed that he was alive and that he had ordered “suicide assaults.”