And challenges
- Hamas is preparing to hold internal elections to rebuild its leadership, decimated by Israel during the war in Gaza, which it sparked by carrying out the October 7,...
- With international powers and israel pushing for it to be disarmed and have no role in Gaza's future governance, its new leaders will face an uncertain future.
- The terror group also rules over a territory devastated by two years of war, with its more than two million residents facing dire humanitarian conditions, and Israeli troops...
Hamas is preparing to hold internal elections to rebuild its leadership, decimated by Israel during the war in Gaza, which it sparked by carrying out the October 7, 2023, massacre, sources in the terror group told AFP on Monday.
With international powers and israel pushing for it to be disarmed and have no role in Gaza’s future governance, its new leaders will face an uncertain future.
The terror group also rules over a territory devastated by two years of war, with its more than two million residents facing dire humanitarian conditions, and Israeli troops still occupying much of the Strip.
“Internal preparations are still ongoing in order to hold the elections at the appropriate time in areas where conditions on the ground allow it,” a Hamas leader told AFP on Monday.
The vote is expected to take place “in the first months of 2026.”
The leadership renewal process includes the formation of a new 50-member Shura Council, a consultative body dominated by religious figures.
Its members are selected every four years by Hamas’ three branches: the Gaza Strip, the West bank, and the movement’s external leadership.
Hamas prisoners in Israeli prisons are also eligible to vote.
That council is responsible, also every four years, for electing the 18-member political bureau and its chief, who serves as Hamas’s overall leader.
another Hamas source close to the process said the timing of the political bureau elections remains uncertain,”given the circumstances our people are going through.”
After Israel killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024, the group chose its then-Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar as his successor.
Israel accused Sinwar of masterminding the October 7 massacre.
He too was killed by Israeli forces in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, three months after Haniyeh’s assassination.
Hamas then opted for an interim five-member leadership committee based in Qatar, postponing the appointment of a
Qatar and Iran are key supporters of Hamas.
Qatar has hosted senior Hamas leaders and, between 2018 and October 2023, provided financial support to the Gaza Strip, specifically funding civil service salaries and cash handouts. Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2007 following a violent conflict.
Iran also provides meaningful support to Hamas, but internal unrest within Iran-including major protests against the government-could potentially impact its ability to continue that support. David Khalfa, a researcher, stated on December 11, 2025, that Hamas’s survival “depends as much on its regional alliances as on its ability to maintain a balance between its political and military branches.”
