The Hamas terrorist organization announced on Sunday that its senior officials have started the process to select a new leader following the Wednesday assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.
“Following the martyrdom of our leader, the leaders of the movement have started a broad consultation process within its hierarchy and advisory institutions to choose a new chief,” the group’s governing Shura Council said in a statement on social media.
Haniyeh and a bodyguard were killed in an early-morning explosion at the Islamic Republic’s official guesthouse, the day after they attended the inauguration of the regime’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Although there has been no confirmation of who was responsible for the incident, the incursion has been widely attributed to the efforts of the Israeli intelligence services.
It is unknown who will succeed the Gaza-born Haniyeh, but names being suggested by regional media outlets are two founding members of the terror institution, Mousa Abu Marzouk and Khaled Meshaal, financial officer Zaher Jabarin, and a high-ranking member and frequent spokesperson for the jihadists, Khalil al-Hayya.
Yahya Sinwar, the commander of Hamas forces in Gaza and an architect of the October 7 massacre, is not expected to be considered for the position.
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