Who are the most senior Hamas, Hezbollah figures left alive?
Following the devastation suffered by these groups, who are the most important figures remaining in Hamas and Hezbollah?
More than two years of conflict marked by heavy Israeli airstrikes, ceasefires, ceasefire violations and subsequent retaliations have had a considerable impact on the leadership of the Iranian terrorist organizations mandated by Hamas and Hezbollah.
In the wake of the devastation suffered by these groups, here are some of the most significant figures remaining within both organizations.
Hamas leadership
Following the war between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7, 2023, Israel decimated Hamas’ leadership. Among the high-profile killings are top terrorists Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammad Sinwar and others.
In Gaza, the current highest-ranking member of Hamas is Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who is one of the remaining masterminds of the October 7 massacres in southern Israel.
Haddad is the current leader of Hamas’s so-called military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, which he took command of after the death of Mohammad Sinwar.
Izz al-Din al-Haddad, commander of the northern Gaza brigade, and alleged replacement for Hamas military leader Mohammed Sinwar. (credit: SCREENSHOT/X/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT)
Aside from Haddad, however, the majority of the terrorist group’s senior leaders reside in Doha, Qatar. There, Hamas has a five-person leadership committee.
The committee’s head, Muhammad Ismail Darwish, heads Hamas’ Shura Council, the group’s main authoritative body.
Darwish took office in mid-October 2023, after the IDF killed his predecessor, Osama al-Mazini, less than two weeks into the war.
Committee member Khalil al-Hayya served as the group’s chief negotiator and leader of its delegations in indirect talks with Israel.
Another board member is Khaled Mashaal, widely considered one of the group’s most important leaders.
Mashaal, who led the group from 2004 to 2017, is often the Hamas leader interviewed by the media and representing the group at major events.
In February, Mashaal, at an Al Jazeera forum, reiterated the group’s rejection of disarmament, a key stipulation of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Zaher Jabarin, another board member, heads Hamas’ financial office as well as its operations in the West Bank.
He also heads Hamas’s Office of Martyrs, Wounded and Prisoners and is a key member of the group’s negotiating team.
The final member of Hamas’ five-member leadership council is Nizar Awadallah, who was in Qatar before the war began.
Awadallah is a long-time member of the group and was close to its co-founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
Hezbollah leadership
At the head of Hezbollah is Secretary General Naim Qassem. Qassem was chosen to lead the terrorist group after his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in late September 2024. Under his leadership, the group, after suffering heavy losses in infrastructure, leadership and fighters during a year of IDF military action, signed a ceasefire with Israel a month later.
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem is pictured during an interview with Reuters at his office in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon August 3, 2016. (credit: REUTERS/AZIZ TAHER)
Shortly after Israel launched Operation Lion Roaring against the Iranian regime last month, fighting resumed between Israel and Hezbollah after Qassem led the group’s entry into the conflict on Tehran’s side.
Another major figure in the organization is Mohammad Haidar, a politician in the group’s political wing and a senior security official in Hezbollah’s Jihad Council.
The council is responsible for the terrorist group’s military and security operations. He reports to Hezbollah’s Shura Council, the organization’s highest decision-making body, which oversees its overall military strategy and political direction.
Talal Hosni Hamiyah, also a member of the Jihad Council, heads Hezbollah’s Unit 910, the unit responsible for clandestine operations outside Lebanon. The unit is responsible for notorious global terrorist attacks, including the 1994 AMIA bombing, the 1992 Israeli embassy bombing in Buenos Aires, and the 2012 Burgas bus bombing.
The unit also works closely with Iranian intelligence services and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force.
The United States is currently offering a reward of up to $7 million for information leading to Hamiyah’s capture.
Another senior member of Hezbollah’s military apparatus is Khalil Yusif Harb, a close advisor to Naim Qassem and, before him, to former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The US State Department, which has a bounty of up to $5 million for information on Harb, notes that he served as Hezbollah’s top military liaison to Iranian and Palestinian terrorist groups.
In addition to these individuals, Hezbollah’s political wing is made up of numerous senior officials, such as Mohammad Raad, who heads the group’s parliamentary bloc, Ali Damoush, who heads Hezbollah’s Executive Council, Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed, who heads the group’s Political Council, and Mohammad Yazbek, a member of the Shura Council who heads Hezbollah’s Judicial Council.
Respond to a request for The Jerusalem PostThe IDF said it was ready to strike the decision-makers of terrorist organizations that operate to threaten the State of Israel.
