Among the Politburo’s leadership is Khaled Meshaal, the man who was poisoned in a botched Israeli assassination attempt in 1997; Hamas‘ Gaza leader and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar and Khalil al-Hayya, Sinwar’s deputy and the man leading the ongoing cease-fire negotiations.
Following Hamas’ top political chief’s assassination on Wednesday, it’s now up to Hamas’ 15-member Politburo to select the new leader who will rule over Gaza.
The committee serves as the de-facto leadership of Hamas, with the bureau previously headed by Ismail Haniyeh prior to his death in Iran as a result of an alleged Israeli “strike.”
Among the Politburo’s leadership is Khaled Meshaal, the man who was poisoned in a botched Israeli assassination attempt in 1997; Hamas’ Gaza leader and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar and Khalil al-Hayya, Sinwar’s deputy and the man leading the ongoing cease-fire negotiations.
With Haniyeh gone, the position of Hamas’s top leader is up for grabs, but Meshaal and al-Hayya tipped as the favorites to succeed. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ exiled leader
Haniyeh was picked as the de-facto face of Hamas in 2017 after being appointed to the position by the terror group’s political bureau.
He ruled the Gaza Strip in exile in the Qatari capital of Doha, and was in charge of speaking on behalf of the group and raising funds for its government and military operations.
Israel has not commented on the strike that killed Haniyeh, with experts noting that the Jewish state typically keeps mum whenever it conducts attacks on Iranian soil.
