A Hamas official recently announced that the organization plans to elect a new leader by March of next year. In the interim, a five-member committee will manage operations, and the identity of the new leader may be kept confidential for security reasons to avoid targeting by Israel.

According to a report by the BBC, Israel has confirmed the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip, a claim that Hamas has also validated. Inside the organization, there is a sense of shock regarding Sinwar’s death, as many believed he was in a safer location rather than exposed in a damaged residential area.

Hamas has previously kept the identities of new leaders secret, notably after the assassination of founder Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and his successor Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in 2004.

Sources close to Hamas indicated that the five-member committee currently overseeing the organization comprises Khalil al-Hayya, a key negotiator; Khaled Meshaal, head of expatriate affairs; Zaher Jabarin, known as Hamas’s “CEO”; Muhammad Darwish, chair of the Islamic Consultative Council; and one unnamed individual.

Of these, al-Hayya is expected to take on most of the political and diplomatic responsibilities, effectively serving as the de facto leader during this transitional period.

In a report by CNN, Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, noted that Sinwar’s death might intensify the years-long conflict with Israel. He commented that with the leadership’s downfall, Hamas is shifting its tactics.

Ibish stated that the war waged by Hamas is “just beginning” and has transformed into a decentralized structure made up of guerrilla fighters and insurgents, eliminating the need for a unified command structure.

He also mentioned that Hamas is likely to rely on low-grade weaponry for survival, including handguns, small machine guns, and even improvised explosive devices (IEDs). “Their people are willing to die,” he remarked.

Ibish cited Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, which expelled the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from Beirut but inadvertently gave rise to the stronger Hezbollah.