Hamas Changes Leadership Strategy After Sinwar's Death: No Successor, Doha-Based Panel Will Lead Group

Following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh, a five-member committee was formed in August. It is likely going to take over the decision-making after Sinwar's death.

Hamas is moving towards establishing a Doha-based ruling committee to head operations instead of selecting a single successor for its chief, Yayah Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli troops last week, AFP has reported, based on two sources from the Palestinian group.

According to AFP, a well-informed source from the group said 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 [2025] — "if conditions permit". 

A five-member committee that was formed in August following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran "will take over the leadership of the group", the source added.

The committee, AFP reported, was formed to facilitate decision-making due to the challenges of communicating with Sinwar in Gaza before his death. Sinwar was named the Gaza chief of the militant group in 2017, before rising to become the overall leader of Hamas after Haniyeh was assassinated in July.

Based on information from the sources, AFP reported that the committee is made up 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. It 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, AFP reported. All the current committee members are based in Qatar. 

The source reportedly said the committee is tasked with governing “the movement during the war and exceptional circumstances” and future plans, and is authorised to "make strategic decisions.”

Meanwhile, another Hamas source said the leadership had also discussed a proposal made “internally” to appoint a chief without announcing the name. But, the source added, the leaders preferred to rule through the committee.

Hamas leader Sinwar was killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Tel Sultan in Rafah on Wednesday in an unplanned operation. The IDF said that its troops suspected there were Hamas terrorists in an area they eventually fired on. Afterwards, Sinwar’s body was found inside the debris.