Three years after the assassination of Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani: Salah Arouri, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, was killed in a drone strike in the heart of Beirut. However, Arouri is only one of a number of senior officials in the political bureau abroad and in Gaza.
Documentation of Qassem Soleimani's assassination
Besides him, the bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, and his deputy, Musa Abu Marzouq, remained. The two are responsible for foreign relations and fundraising for the terrorist organization. The same remains the head of the diaspora abroad, Khaled Mashaal, who served as the terrorist organization's leader in the past. The assassination, by the way, also had an important message for those people who are negotiating the release of the hostages. None of them have an insurance certificate.
Other senior figures from Hamas' office in Gaza who are currently living abroad can be counted, the most significant of whom is Fathi Hamad, who is apparently in Turkey. Hamad was previously responsible for establishing Hamas' propaganda channels, served as a liaison between the military wing and the political bureau in the Gaza Strip, and left Gaza for Turkey. It can be assumed that from there as well, he is engaged in terrorist activity. It seems that it is no coincidence that Turkish intelligence reported yesterday the arrest of about 30 people suspected of collaborating with the Mossad.
Hamas leaders Musa Abu Marzouq (right) and Ismail Haniyeh, photo: AFP
In a certain sense, the drying up of Hamas' economic and political infrastructure abroad is no less significant than the dismantling of the military wing's brigades in the Gaza Strip. Defense Minister Yoav Galant confirmed yesterday that the two northern Gaza brigades had collapsed and that the IDF is now expected to focus mainly on cleansing the remaining terrorist cells. Over 8,000 terrorists were eliminated, many of whom fled to the southern Gaza Strip to defend Khan Younis.
However, if Hamas survives as a political entity after the war, it will still look for ways to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel and around the world. Only recently did the Shin Bet and Mossad thwart an attack in Denmark. Haniyeh himself expressed hope yesterday that the organization will succeed in integrating in one way or another into the PLO. The plan, it seems, is to survive at least as a political party the day after Gaza.
IDF forces take over Hamas' military intelligence operations room in Khan Yunis, photo: IDF Spokesperson
Eliminating the organization's foreign leadership will not be the end of the story. Although Israel eliminated a number of commanders in the military wing in Gaza, among them the commanders of the northern and central regions – Ahmad Ghandour and Ayman Nofal – many of them are still hiding in the Gaza Strip.
The main targets are Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar and the heads of Hamas' military wing: Muhammad Deif, Marwan Issa, Rad Sa'ed and Rafa Salameh. They include other senior commanders such as Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, Hamas' Gaza City brigade commander, most of whose battalion commanders have already been eliminated. It can be hoped that with the eradication of the top echelons of the terrorist organization, many of its capabilities will be destroyed.
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