Hamas is reportedly concealing the identity of its new leader to prevent their assassination, Saudi-owned news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Saturday.
Hamas sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are internal discussions on the matter, stating, "The movement's leadership is moving towards making an exceptional decision regarding the identity of the head of its new political bureau, and keeping the name secret most likely due to the security challenges facing the movement."
According to the report, which cited the Hamas sources, there is near consensus on keeping the name of the next leader secret both by Hamas leaders in Gaza and abroad.
Hamas seeks to make it difficult for Israel to track and eliminate future leaders and to confuse Israel about who will make decisions regarding hostage and ceasefire negotiations, Asharq Al-Awsat noted in their report.
Who could replace Sinwar?
Some of the potential candidates to become the next leader of Hamas, alleged by Asharq Al-Awsat, include Mohammed Darwish (Abu Omar Hassan), the head of Hamas's Shura Council, Khalil Al-Hayya, Sinwar's deputy, Khaled Mashaal, Mohammed Nazzal, and Abu Marzouk.
Many of Hamas's top leaders, including both political and military, have been eliminated by Israel in recent months. Most recently, Hamas leader and orchestrator of the October 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar, was killed in Gaza on Thursday.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, was killed in Tehran in late July in an assassination attributed to Israel, however, Israel never formally took responsibility for it.