Hamas is in total disarray: Leadership struggles after key assassinations 

Hamas is facing great difficulties following the assassinations of senior Hamas officials in the political bureau in Gaza and abroad, in its military wing and in its police apparatuses. During the last 58 days of the ceasefire, Hamas tried to reorganize and appoint new senior officials to manage some of the files.

According to the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, there was a tendency to push for snap elections in Hamas in order to consolidate the position of Khalil al-Haya, the acting head of the bureau in Gaza. Al-Haya is in Qatar and has tried to cooperate with senior figures in Gaza such as Mohammed al-Jamasi, Yasser Harb, Ismail Barhoum and Issam al-Daalis. Together, they tried to reorganize the Hamas leadership in Gaza. However, all of these elements were eliminated with the resumption of fighting in Operation Strength and Sword.

Moreover, the attacks and assassinations caused a delay in distributing the salaries of government officials, while the salaries of members of the military and political branches were paid at a maximum of 60 percent on Eid al-Fitr. Hamas sources said that the delay in distributing salaries is one of the reasons for the administrative vacuum and the difficulty in making decisions. The sources confirmed that the recent series of assassinations had a great impact on the management of the cases, especially inside Gaza.

Asharq Al-Awsat noted that Hamas's leadership council abroad is responsible for the organization's management, and was established after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the assassination of his successor, Yahya Sinwar. The Leadership Council includes the heads of the various Hamas regions: Khalil al-Haya, who is in charge of Gaza, Khaled Meshal, who is in charge of the diaspora abroad, Zaher Jabareen, who is in charge of the Judea and Samaria arena, Muhammad Darwish, chairman of the Shura Council, and Nizar Awadallah. Hamas sources said that the council consists of 5-7 members.

According to the sources, the leadership council makes decisions without considering the senior officials who remain in Gaza, except in cases of emergency. They explained that "the reliance on the council continued until the ceasefire, but the assassinations and the renewal of the war have brought the situation back to normal. There are red lines that the leadership council or whoever is leading the negotiations cannot pass without returning to all the members of the political bureau, especially those who remained in Gaza, and to the military council of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades."