Hamas’s internal leadership elections confirm that the group has no interest in moderation or disarmament. The terror organization has elected hardliners fully committed to continuing its Muslim Brotherhood-backed war against Israel.

Izz al-Din al-Haddad, known as Abu Suhaib or the ‘Ghost of the Al-Qassam Brigades,’ stands at the center of this continuity. One of the few original-generation commanders still operating inside the Gaza Strip, Abu Suhaib directs military operations from tunnels beneath Gaza City. He survived at least six Israeli assassination attempts during the 2023–2025 Gaza War.

In the aforementioned internal selection process, Hamas elected Khalil al-Hayya to lead its Gaza branch and placed Khaled Mashal -one of their historical leaders- in charge of external operations and assigned him a transitional role heading the Political Bureau. Although Abu Suhaib maintains stronger ties to al-Hayya than to Mashal, this new scenario unmistakably states something very clear: Hamas is not going to change its strategy at all.

Indeed, these elections further entrench Hamas as Iran’s primary proxy in the eastern Mediterranean. Tehran provides funding and weapons through established smuggling routes as part of the so-called........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)