Hamas tight-lipped on identities of new leaders after string of killings

After Israel killed a string of its leaders, Hamas anointed new commanders to top ranks, this time shrouding their identities in secrecy to protect them.

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Israel’s blistering offensive in Gaza has massively weakened the movement while reducing much of the territory to rubble.

Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of its armed wing, Mohammed Deif, and Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October-7 attack, have all been killed, as have a string of other key figures.

Yet, unlike Lebanese ally Hezbollah, whose cult of personality around its slain leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was a key pillar of its identity, Hamas has placed less of an emphasis on its top ranks.