Sinwar’s possible successors at the helm of Hamas

According to Israeli media, the list of possible successors to Hamas includes several senior figures of the terrorist organization, most of whom reside in Qatar or other countries. And, although one of the main candidates is originally from Gaza, the rest are high-ranking members of the Hamas political bureau, which statistically could imply that it will be a foreign leader who once again assumes power in the organization.

The names of Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al Hayya They emerge as possible candidates to take over. Two very different profiles from Sinwar, who are outside the Strip and have spent their entire lives within the political apparatus, according to reports Mikel AyestaranABC correspondent in Istanbul.

A leader in exile

Khaled Meshaal He was born in the West Bank, in 1956, and is considered one of the founders of the terrorist organization. From 1996 to 2017 he served as the president of the political bureau, until he was succeeded by Ismail Haniyeh, eliminated a few months ago in Tehrana handover marked a transfer of power from Hamas leaders living abroad to those living in Gaza.

When Israel invaded the West Bank during the Six-Day War, the Meshaal family was forced to flee to Jordan and later to Kuwait, where Khaled studied Physics and where he became involved in Islamic activism, joining the Muslim Brotherhood. .

At the age of 19, in 1975, Khaled visited Palestinian lands. He traveled extensively throughout both Israel and the occupied territories and it was on that two-month journey that he deepened his patriotic feelings.

In 1997, when Meshaal was living in Jordan, Mossad agents, under orders from Benjamin Netanyahu, attempted to assassinate him. The officials, who would later be captured, entered Jordan with Canadian passports and disguised as tourists. They waited for the Hamas leader in his office and attempted to eliminate him using a fast-acting poison. Meshaal’s health deteriorated rapidly and the king of Jordan demanded Nettanyahu deliver the antidote under the threat of breaking diplomatic relations and trying the detained agents. A request that he was forced to fulfill due to the intervention of then US President Bill Clinton. Only then could Meshaal, who was in a coma, be assisted.

Years later, Meshaal said in an interview that the assassination attempt “made him see life with more optimism.” «I became braver in the face of death. My faith grew stronger that a man does not die until his time comes. That is, I will die when God decides, not when the Mossad decides. “It also made me more determined to fulfill my responsibilities.”

In September 2024, the United States Department of Justice announced criminal charges against Meshaal, accusing him of orchestrating the October 7 attack on Israel along with other senior Hamas officials.

Renew attention on Palestine

Khalil al Hayyaborn in Gaza in 1960, has served as the vice president of Hamas’s political bureau since August 2024. After the 7-O attack, al Hayya told ‘The New York Times’ that it was a “necessary” event for “change the whole equation and not just have a confrontation.” He also assured that with this aggression they had managed to “put the Palestinian issue back on the table, and now no one in the region is experiencing calm.” According to Hayya, Hamas’ goal is not to “rule Gaza and bring it water and electricity,” but to renew attention on Palestine.

Several of his relatives, including two of his brothers, were killed in Israeli attacks on his home in 2007. In 2008, one of his sons was killed in an Israeli airstrike while leading a rocket brigade. And another of his sons, along with his daughter-in-law and grandson, died in an airstrike against his home in Gaza in 2014.

In April 2024, Khalil assured that Hamas would accept a ceasefire with Israel, hand over its weapons and transform into a political party under the condition that an independent Palestinian state be established on the pre-1967 borders.