The war that began Oct. 7, 2023, has upended Hamas’s political leadership, leaving several of its top figures, including Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Saleh al-Arouri, dead. Members of its political bureau, its Shura Council and its organizational leadership in Gaza and abroad have also been killed.
After Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel stepped up its targeting of leaders of the group, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization.
Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas’s deputy political bureau chief, was killed in southern Beirut in January 2024. Israel killed political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran that July. Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas’s political bureau in the Gaza Strip, was killed in October 2024 in a clash with Israeli troops in Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan area.
The United States had designated all three as terrorists.
The leaders profiled below appear to have survived the war so far, some narrowly. Khalil al-Hayya, Ghazi Hamad and Fathi Hammad escaped an Israeli strike on Hamas officials in Doha in September 2025. Most have appeared publicly or issued statements in recent months, while others, including Izzat al-Risheq and Mohammed Nazzal, have rarely been seen.
Khalil al-Hayya
After Sinwar’s death, an interim leadership council ran Hamas in Gaza until the group elected Khalil al-Hayya as its political bureau chief over Khaled Meshaal in July 2026. Al-Hayya won by a single vote, 35-34, according to Hamas.
But al-Hayya’s election did not end Hamas’s competing power centers. Power is still split among the political bureau, the Shura Council, the West Bank leadership and leaders abroad, as well as veteran figures who have spent decades handling regional and international relations, ties with other factions and media work.
Al-Hayya has sat on the political bureau since 2016, is a member of the interim leadership council and served as deputy head of Hamas’s Gaza office. He combined organizational and political work and played a leading role in negotiations over the war, ceasefires and hostage exchanges, heading Hamas’s delegations to talks in Egypt and Qatar.
He also held a senior post in Hamas’s Gaza office and served as a special adviser to Haniyeh before moving to Qatar, where he became identified with the group’s pro-Tehran wing and met repeatedly with Iranian leaders.
Al-Hayya has close ties to the Egyptian government, built through his role in Palestinian reconciliation talks and negotiations to end the war, and to Qatar, where he has lived since leaving Gaza.
Khaled Meshaal
Khaled Meshaal remains one of Hamas’s most prominent political figures, thanks to his long run as political bureau chief, which ended when Haniyeh succeeded him in 2017. He still sits on the political bureau and the interim leadership council. The U.S. designated him a terrorist in 2003, identifying him as the head of Hamas’s political bureau and saying the group’s political leadership directed its terrorist network.
His influence comes from years of running Hamas from abroad, long-standing ties to Arab and other regional governments and his role in building the group’s network outside the Palestinian territories. Meshaal was based in Damascus until 2012, when he left as Syria’s civil war intensified and Hamas came out against the Assad regime. He eventually aligned himself with Turkey and Qatar.
His opposition to Assad also put distance between him and Iran. He later tried to open ties with Saudi Arabia, but those efforts fell short of what Hamas had hoped for.
Though no longer political bureau chief, Meshaal remains a leading figure in Hamas’s leadership abroad.
Mohammed Ismail Darwish
Mohammed Ismail Darwish, also known as Abu Omar Hassan, sits on the political bureau and chairs Hamas’s Shura Council, the consultative body that elects the political bureau and one of the group’s main decision-making institutions.
Darwish has focused on Hamas’s internal affairs and has deep experience managing the group’s affairs in the West Bank, while keeping a lower public profile than other bureau members.
Zaher Jabarin
Zaher Jabarin is one of Hamas’s most important leaders in the West Bank. He spent years building the group’s organization there and is best known for handling prisoner issues, as well as internal and political relations.
Jabarin has sat on the political bureau since 2021 and is a member of the interim leadership council. He heads the movement’s regional office in the West Bank, serving as the link between the central leadership and the group’s organization there.
A hard-liner, he has rejected negotiations with Israel, a political settlement and full reconciliation with the Palestinian Authority. He has long been known for his close ties to Iran.
The U.S. designated Jabarin a terrorist in 2019, identifying him as Hamas’s finance chief and accusing him of managing the group’s international financial network, including efforts to raise, transfer and launder funds for Hamas.
Moussa Abu Marzouk
Moussa Abu Marzouk is one of Hamas’s longest-serving political figures. A political bureau member who got his start in the group’s early days, he is best known for its work abroad and its regional and international relations.
Abu Marzouk helped build Hamas’s presence abroad, particularly by strengthening ties with Qatar and Iran. He has taken more flexible positions than many other leaders and has called for engagement with Washington and the European Union.
The U.S. added Abu Marzouk to its terrorist list in 2003, accusing him of directing and coordinating Hamas terrorist acts and of involvement in financing the group’s military activities.
Osama Hamdan
Osama Hamdan, based in Lebanon, handled Hamas’s foreign relations and ties with other Palestinian factions. He was one of the group’s main channels to Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and designated by the United States as a terrorist organization, as well as with other Palestinian factions, Arab countries and international actors.
Hamdan has opposed disarming Hamas without political and security arrangements that guarantee an end to the war. He is also seen as closer to Iran than to Turkey or Qatar.
The U.S. designated Hamdan a terrorist in 2003 for his role as a senior Hamas leader in Lebanon. U.S. records have also linked him to Hamas fundraising and support activities.
Izzat al-Risheq
Izzat al-Risheq retains a prominent position within Hamas’s political leadership. A veteran of the political bureau and of Hamas’s media operation, he has for years been one of the main voices of the group’s political statements and official messaging. He has also taken part in delegations and talks abroad.
He is one of the faces of Hamas’s leadership abroad still standing after the killing of several top leaders. In recent years, he has worked with the group’s leadership in Qatar on its political outreach abroad.
Mohammed Nazzal
Mohammed Nazzal is one of the longest-serving members of Hamas’s political bureau and belongs to its first generation, having joined in 1996. He has worked mostly outside the Palestinian territories, often behind the scenes, most notably opening the movement’s offices in Turkey and facilitating the activities of its members and leaders on Turkish territory. He is one of Hamas’s least visible leaders.
The U.S. added Nazzal to its terrorist list in 2024, saying he had been a Hamas official for more than 30 years and represented the group internationally as a senior member of its Council on International Relations.
Fathi Hammad
Fathi Hammad is another prominent figure in Hamas and has been a member of the movement’s political bureau since 2017. He has held several political, government and security posts in Gaza, most notably interior and national security minister from 2009 to 2014.
Hammad rose to prominence during that period amid a security crackdown on Hamas’s opponents, particularly members of Fatah and security forces affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, with human rights and Palestinian groups accusing his forces of arbitrary detention and mistreatment of some detainees. He is an outspoken supporter of Iran and a critic of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.
The U.S. State Department designated Hammad as a terrorist in 2016, accusing him of using his position to coordinate the “work of terrorist cells” and of establishing Al-Aqsa TV, which it described as “a major Hamas media outlet that broadcasts programs aimed at recruiting children to become armed fighters and suicide operatives when they reach adulthood.”
Ghazi Hamad
Ghazi Hamad is a well-known Gaza political figure who has often been involved in negotiations and talks on postwar arrangements.
Hamad held posts in the Hamas government in Gaza and played a prominent role in running its affairs. He also took part in reconciliation talks with the Palestinian Authority, though he opposed handing over control of Gaza or reaching a real deal to end the Palestinian split.
Hamad left Gaza in 2021 and began working to strengthen ties with regional governments. He later became one of the voices open to a settlement with Israel and to discussing the next phase of the war.
The U.S. designated Hamad a terrorist in 2024, identifying him as a longtime Hamas leader who served as an editor of the group’s propaganda outlets, spoke publicly on its behalf and previously oversaw Gaza’s border crossings.
Bassem Naim
Finally, Bassem Naim is one of the leaders who handle Hamas’s relations with Arab governments and its messaging abroad. During the war, he became known for opposing any settlement.
Since October 2023, Hamas has reshuffled its leadership as its top ranks have changed. Responsibilities are now split among the head of the political bureau, the Shura Council, the West Bank leadership, leaders abroad, and figures who specialize in regional ties, relations with other factions and media.
Naim was added to the U.S. terrorist list in 2024. The U.S. identified him as a senior Hamas member who participated in the group’s engagements with Russia and other countries and served on its Council on International Relations.
