Hamas Leadership After Ismail Haniyeh: Who Are The Key Figures Now?
Hamas the Palestinian resistance movement was born out of the first uprising or intifada against Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The group was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1987, who defined it as a Palestinian Islamic national liberation and resistance movement.
It originated as an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, with a military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades to liberate historic Palestine. In 2017, it revised its charter and agreed for a Palestine state within the 1967 borders, without recognizing the statehood of Israel.
Many of the high-ranking groups have opted to live with a low public profile in Gaza, to avoid Israel’s assassination attempts, whilst others opted to live in exile in different countries including Qatar, Iran, Lebanon, and Turkey. Those residing in Palestine are believed to be more involved in military operations against Israel while political leadership is based abroad.
Read also: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Leads Funeral Prayer For Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh.
Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas chief was killed in Tehran, Iran on July 30, in an air strike while he went to attend the Presidential inauguration ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian. Haniyeh remained the political face of Hamas representing its global diplomacy. The question is who are the other faces of Hamas, who will further the negotiation process or conduct the Hamas struggle alive? Here is a description of some of its prominent leaders.
Khaled Meshaal
Khaled Meshaal is one of the founding members of Hamas and played the role of chief negotiator in attempts to broker a ceasefire deal for Gaza. In 1987, Meshaal led the Kuwait chapter of the organization but left after Iraq invaded in 1990. He later moved to Amman, Jordan. In 1997, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu attempted his assassination and sent a man-hit squad to Jordan. However, Meshaal was saved and King Hussein, the Jordan leader was outraged by the attack.
Following the attack he was named a ‘living martyr’ by his supporters and recognized as head of Hamas after the assassination of Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in 2004.
Meshaal helped Hamas to win a majority of the seats in the Palestine legislative election in 2006. He became the head of the group’s political bureau abroad.
Yahya Sinwar
Yahya Sinwar is known for founding the internal security bodies of Hamas and leading the movement within the Gaza Strip. He served as leading the group’s first security apparatus, Majd for 23 years.
Sinwar was sentenced to four life terms by Israel in the 1980s. During his term, the Hamas leader said to learn Hebrew and read Israeli newspapers to analyze and understand the enemy better.
In 2011, he was freed along with 1,047 Palestinian prisoners for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was abducted in 2006. He was later appointed head of the group in the Gaza Strip in 2017.
Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Deif led Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, since 2002 and helped engineer the network of underground tunnels in Gaza. He joined Hamas during the first Intifada and was arrested in 1989 by Israeli forces. Deif was released from jail after one year and he ascended to the Hamas’ rank.
Deif became the Hamas military head in 2002, after Salah Shehade.
Israeli forces failed to assassinate Deif during a 2014 assault on the Gaza Strip.
Read also: ‘What My Father Told Before He Was Assassinated’: Ismail Haniyeh’s Son, Abdul Salam Haniyeh.
Today the IDF said that it has killed the Hamas military leader. “The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) announces that on July 13th, 2024, IDF fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Yunis, and following an intelligence assessment, it can be confirmed that Mohammed Deif was eliminated in the strike,” the military said, as quoted by Reuters. Hamas is yet to confirm the killing.
Marwan Issa
Marwan Issa, nicknamed the ‘Shadow Man’ for the low public profile and to evade Israeli arrests and assassination attempts. Issa was alleged to have been killed by Israel this year. Hamas has not confirmed his killing in an Israeli air strike in March but the leader is known to have survived several earlier attempts in 2006, 2014, and 2021.
Issa became deputy of Deif in 2012 and is presumed to be a mastermind of the October 7 attack on southern Israel.
Despite his senior position, Issa was not photographed until 2011.
