Top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been killed in Iran in an Israeli raid at his residence in Tehran, the group said in a statement on Wednesday. The group has vowed to retaliate, and has described Haniyeh’s death as an “assassination”.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said the cause of the “incident” was not immediately clear but was “being investigated”, AFP news agency reported.
According to the group, Haniyeh died after participating in the inauguration ceremony of the new Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, who was sworn in on Tuesday.
So, who will lead Hamas now? What is its political future? What exactly is Hamas and what does it do? Let’s answer these questions.
What is Hamas?
Hamas, an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, is an Islamic Resistance Movement founded in 1987 during the First Intifada or Palestinian uprising.
It has run the Gaza Strip since 2007, after a brief civil war with forces loyal to the Fatah movement led by President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank and heads the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The Hamas takeover of Gaza followed its win in Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006. Since then, Hamas has sworn to the destruction of Israel and fought several wars with Israel since it took power in Gaza in 2007.
Hamas is backed by Shi’ite Iran and shares the Islamist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organisation founded in Egypt in the 1920s. Hamas is part of a regional alliance comprising Iran, Syria and the Shi’ite Islamist group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which all broadly oppose US policy in the Middle East and Israel. Iran provides funds to Hamas and also give support for weapons and training.
The Palestinian militant organisation is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States, the UK, European Union, Canada, Egypt and Japan.
While its power base is in Gaza, Hamas also has supporters across the Palestinian territories, and it has leaders spread across the Middle East in countries including Qatar.
What is Hamas Ideology?
Hamas refuse to recognise the state of Israel and violently opposed the Oslo peace accords negotiated by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in the mid-1990s. Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat had signed the Oslo accords with Israel in 1993 to negotiate an end to the conflict based on a two-state solution.
The militant group also has an armed wing called the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, which earlier sent gunmen and suicide bombers into Israel.
Though the group is dedicated to the creation of an independent Palestinian state, but in recent years has indicated its willingness to accept a two-state solution.
What Does Hamas Politburo Do?
The Political Bureau (Politburo) is Hamas’ main decision-making body whose authority is derived from the support of the Shura Council. The Politburo determines social, political, and military policies, in consultation with the Shura Council.
The Politburo comprises 15 members elected by the Shura Council every four years. It was headed by Ismail Haniyeh, who replaced Khaled Mashal in May 2017 following Politburo elections. In practice, though, Yahya Sinwar has assumed effective control over the movement.
In addition to the main Politburo, Hamas has ‘regional’ Politburos elected by four ‘regional’ Shuras, representing the West Bank, Gaza, the diaspora, and prisoners.
The Shura Council is the consultative body that elects Hamas’ Politburo. It consists of members from the four ‘regional’ shuras, elected by Hamas members in Gaza, the West Bank, the diaspora, and by prisoners in Israeli jails. These regional shuras appoint ‘regional’ politburos (local leaderships) for each area. The Shura was earlier dominated by religious figures but now largely comprises social figures. In October 2023, Israel killed Osama Mazini — the head of Hamas’ shura council in the Gaza Strip.
Besides Politburo, Hamas has regional-level politburos. Each regional politburo is elected by a regional Shura Council. In March 2021, Hamas members in Gaza elected a new local leadership for Gaza composed of 15 members led by Yahya Sinwar.
Who Are the Top Leaders of Hamas?
Ismail Haniyeh: Until his death in Iran on July 31, Haniyeh was considered as the top leader of Hamas. He was imprisoned for three years in 1989 as it cracked down on the first Palestinian uprising. He was sent to exile in 1992 to a no-man’s-land between Israel and Lebanon, along with other Hams leaders. After he returned from exile in Gaza, he was appointed the head of the office of Hamas’ spiritual leader in 1997. Haniyeh was appointed Palestinian prime minister in 2006 by President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas won the most seats in national elections, but was dismissed a year later after the group ousted Abbas’ Fatah party from the Gaza Strip in a week of deadly violence. Haniyeh, however, rejected his sacking and continued to rule in Gaza. He was elected the head of Hamas’ political bureau in 2017. He was designated a terrorist in 2018 by the US Department of State. He had lived in Qatar for seven years.
Yahya Sinwar: A leader of the Hamas movement in Gaza Strip, Sinwar is the founder of the group’s security service known as Majd, which manages internal security matters. He has been arrested three times. He was among more than 1,000 Palestinian and Israeli Arab prisoners released by Israel in exchange for an Israeli soldier held captive for over five years by Hamas. He was appointed the head of the group’s political bureau in the Gaza Strip in 2017. The US blacklisted him as an international terrorist in 2015.
Mohammad Deif: Born in 1965 in the Khan Younis refugee camp, set up after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mohammad Masri became Mohammed Deif after joining Hamas during the first Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, in 1987. Deif means “visitor” or “guest” in Arabic, and some say that is because the Hamas military commander is always on the move with Israeli hunters on his trail. He is one of the founders of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, in the 1990s, and has led the force for more than 20 years. He planned suicide bombings that led to the death of dozens of Israelis. Israel identified him and Yahya Sinwar as the chief architects of the October 7 attack that killed at least 1,139 people in southern Israel and triggered its war on Gaza.
Marwan Issa: He is the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing in the Gaza Strip and a mastermind of the October 7 attack. Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, had said earlier in March that Issa had been killed. The Palestinian Authority arrested him in 1997, but he was freed after the second intifada in 2000. He had served since 2012 as a deputy to Mohammed Deif. Issa assumed the role after the assassination of another top commander, Ahmed al-Jabari. Issa served both on Hamas’ military council and in its Gaza political office, overseen by Yahya Sinwar.
Khaled Meshaal: He was born in the West Bank in 1956, and is considered one of the founders of Hamas. Israel’s spy agency Mossad attempted to assassinate Meshaal in 1997 while he was living in Jordan. The late King Hussein of Jordan asked Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu for the antidote for the substance Meshaal was injected with. Facing pressure from then US President Bill Clinton, Netanyahu provided the antidote after initially rejecting the request. Meshaal became head of the group’s political bureau abroad.
Mahmoud Zahar: Mahmoud Zahar is a co-founder of Hamas and a member of the Hamas leadership in Gaza. He became the adviser to the Palestinian Health Minister, and helped create the Palestinian Medical Society and was one of the primary founders of the Islamic University in Gaza in 1978. Zahar was instrumental in the founding of Hamas in 1987 and served as a senior official and spokesman of the organization. He was held in Israeli prisons, months after founding Hamas. Israel attempted to assassinate Zahar in 2003, when a plane dropped a bomb on his house in Gaza City. The attack left him with minor injuries, but killed his eldest son, Khaled.
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