Hamas to elect new leader next March, plans to keep identity secret to prevent assassination_2

A Hamas official has announced that the organization plans to elect a new leader by March of next year, with a five-member committee taking charge in the interim. Due to security concerns, the identity of the new leader may be kept confidential to avoid being targeted by Israel.

According to a report from the BBC, Israel has recently confirmed the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip, a fact that Hamas has also acknowledged. Reports indicate that there is shock within Hamas regarding Sinwar’s death, as many believed he was in a safer location rather than exposed in a damaged residential area.

Historically, after the assassination of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and his successor Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in 2004, the organization kept the identities of new leaders confidential as well.

Currently, the five-member committee overseeing Hamas includes prominent figures such as Khalil al-Hayya, known for representing Hamas in negotiations; Khaled Meshaal, responsible for expatriate affairs; financial officer Zaher Jabarin, referred to as the “Hamas CEO”; Muhammad Darwish, chairman of the Islamic Consultative Council; and one individual whose identity remains undisclosed.

Khalil al-Hayya is expected to assume most of the political and diplomatic responsibilities, effectively making him the de facto leader of Hamas during this transitional period.

In a report by CNN, Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, noted that Sinwar’s death could intensify Hamas’s long-standing conflict with Israel. He pointed out that with the leadership structure in disarray, Hamas is shifting its operational approach.

Ibish described the conflict as just beginning, indicating that Hamas has adopted a model comprised of “guerrilla fighters and insurgents” who operate in decentralized groups without needing a unified command structure.

He further explained that Hamas may rely on low-end, improvised weapons for survival, including handguns, submachine guns, and even homemade explosive devices (IEDs), emphasizing the group’s willingness to fight to the death.

To illustrate, Ibish referenced the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which expelled the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Beirut but gave rise to a more powerful Hezbollah.