THE REPORTER | The Palestinian Hamas group has confirmed that it will keep secret the identity of Yahya Sinwar’s potential replacement, who was killed by Israel on Thursday, October 17, 2024.
Hamas is currently said to be still discussing who will replace Sinwar as their leader. This decision was taken after only three months, two Hamas leaders, Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar, were killed in Israeli attacks.
According to the Asharq Al-Awsat report, Hamas will keep the identity of Sinwar’s replacement a secret for security reasons. In other words, this step was taken as an effort so that the new Hamas leader can carry out his duties properly, without worrying about being attacked by the Zionist military.
In addition, Hamas’ decision to keep the identity of Sinwar’s potential replacement a secret also aims to maintain internal order within the organization.
Hamas has actually tried to hide the identities of its leaders when their founder Ahmed Yasin and his successor, Abdel Aziz Al-Rantisi, were killed by Israel. Since then, Hamas has always hidden the identities of its leaders so that they are not easily tracked and attacked by the Zionist military.
Hamas is said to have pocketed the names of several potential candidates who will be appointed as Yahya Sinwar’s replacement.
One of them is Khaled Mashal. The man who currently serves as Head of the Hamas Political Bureau is said to be the main candidate to replace Sinwar as Hamas’ supreme leader. However, Mashal reportedly refused to replace Sinwar for health reasons.
Other candidates include Mohammad Darwish or Abu Omar Hasan who currently serves as Head of the Hamas Shura Council.
Omar was actually once predicted to replace Ismail Haniyeh when he was killed in Tehran, Iran, in July 2024. However, the plan did not materialize because Hamas chose Sinwar to replace Haniyeh.
Hamas’ deputy leader, Khalil Al-Hayya, is also a potential candidate to replace Sinwar. Hayya is currently on assignment in Gaza to monitor residents and encourage a ceasefire in the region.
In addition to the names above, there are also other names mentioned as candidates to replace Sinwar. Some of them, such as senior Hamas figure, Mohammed Nazal and the First Head of Hamas Political Bureau, Mousa Abu Marzoul.[AR]