The Palestinian group Hamas does not intend to appoint a successor to its assassinated political bureau chief Yahya Sinwar until its internal elections, scheduled for March 2025. This was reported by the Saudi television channel Asharq News, citing a source within the movement.
The source indicated that Hamas will refrain from naming Sinwar’s successor until the internal elections take place, provided the necessary conditions are met by March. After the assassination of former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the movement's leadership formed a five-member committee in mid-August, which will continue its work despite Sinwar’s death. This body will guide Hamas’s policies, including its stance in indirect negotiations with Israel regarding the Gaza conflict and potential exchanges of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
The committee includes key figures such as Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas's political bureau in Gaza; Zaher Jabarin, who leads Hamas operations in the West Bank; Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas’s international office; and Muhammad Darwish, chairman of Hamas's Shura Council. Al-Hayya has been given authority to lead ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and manage the movement’s international relations.
Previously, the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al Awsat reported that Hamas may attempt to keep the identity of the new political bureau leader secret to protect him from Israeli retaliation, while also granting him more freedom to manage administrative tasks. Potential successors named by the paper include Darwish, al-Hayya, Mashal, and politburo member Muhammad Nazzal.
On October 17, the Israeli military announced that three "terrorists" had been killed in Gaza, one of whom was believed to be Hamas's political bureau chief. The military later confirmed that Sinwar was killed during the operation on October 16. Israel considers him one of the main architects of the Hamas attack on the Jewish state on October 7, 2023. On October 18, Hamas confirmed Sinwar’s death and declared that it would not release hostages held in Gaza until Israeli forces withdraw from the territory.
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Based on TASS materials