International
With its top unheaded, Hamas seeks new leadership in the middle of the war in Gaza
“Sinwar’s death will not end the resistance or the cause,” Hamas assured by confirming that the top leader of the movement died last week in clashes with Israeli troops in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
The group then said that the Shura Council, its highest advisory body, would meet in the coming days to elect the new head of the political bureau to replace Sinwar, who in turn in August replaced In that position Ismail Haniyeh, eliminated in Tehran in an attack attributed to Israel.
However, Hamas sources have pointed out to EFE the possibility of postponing that decision to March, when internal elections are planned; and delegating the leadership to a five-member steering committee, which will assume the strategic political and military decisions.
“The next step is still under consultation in the direction of the movement. No decision has been made,” a source from the Hamas political bureau told EFE.
It is not the first time that Hamas has faced the assassination of its leaders, but its internal mechanisms are designed to make the movement survive above specific personalities.
The figures that follow in the first line are:
– Jaled Meshaal: One of the vice presidents of the Hamas political bureau, a body that he already led between 1996 and 2017, when he was succeeded in office by the head of the movement within the Strip, Ismail Haniyeh. That transfer marked the transfer of power from the leaders abroad to those inside Gaza (two years later Haniyeh moved to Qatar).
Born in the West Bank in 1956, he has lived in exile since 1967, when his family fled to Jordan in the Six-Day War. He then moved to Kuwait, where he joined the Muslim Brotherhood. A two-month tour in 1975 through Palestinian lands imbued him with patriotic feelings and he is one of the founders of Hamas in 1987.
He survived a poisoning assassination attempt in Amman by Mossad agents in 1997, by order of Benjamin Netanyahu. With Meshaal in a coma, the King of Jordan demanded the antidote under threat of breaking relations with Israel and trying his spies. Netanyahu had to give in after Bill Clinton’s intervention.
He has lived in Syria, Qatar and Turkey, and is the main representative of Hamas among the Palestinian exodus. With the murders of Haniyeh and the vice president of the political bureau, Saleh al Arouri – last January in Beirut – Meshaal remains the strongest figure of the group abroad.
–Jalil al Hayya: He was Sinwar’s right hand in the political branch within the Strip. After his appointment as president of the group in August, Al Hayya replaced him as head of Hamas in the enclave and occupies one of the three vice presidencies of the office, which corresponds to leaders from within Gaza.
In 2006 he led the Hamas bloc in the defunct Palestinian Legislative Council. He is a prominent supporter of the armed struggle against Israel and has survived several assassination attempts, the most serious in 2007, when an attack on his house in the northern Strip killed several of his relatives.
It was he who, the day after Israel announced Sinwar’s death, confirmed the news on behalf of Hamas, which can augur a prominent role.
– Mohamed Sinwar: He is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar and a prominent commander of the al Qasam Brigades, the armed arm of Hamas. Before the death of several commanders during the war – including their military chief, Mohamed Deif, and his ‘number two’, Marwan Issa – he assumed military command of the southern half of the Strip, from Nuseirat to Rafah.
He grew up in the ranks of the Hamas military wing since the nineties, when he was a teenager, in the shadow of his brother. Although his leadership is on the military level, the current war context leaves him a wide margin of decision and autonomy. It is one of the “most sought after” by Israel.
– Musa Abu Marzouk: He is a member of the political bureau and, together with Haniyeh, promoted a pragmatic approach in negotiations with Israel for a ceasefire. In the 1990s, when he resided in the United States, he was arrested for raising funds for the armed wing of Hamas, and then remained in exile in Jordan, Egypt and Qatar.
– Izz ad Din al Haddad: He was the commander of the Gaza City Brigade when the war began, but now he holds military command of the entire northern part of the enclave. Together with the little Sinwar, he is in charge of continuing the “war of attrition” against Israel and co-directing military operations.
– Zaher Jabarin: He was from the circle close to Sinwar and Haniyeh. Handles the financial affairs of the group. Before he participated in military activities, so he was arrested by Israel and released in 2011 in the same exchange of more than a thousand prisoners for soldier Gilad Shalit, in which Sinwar was also released from prison.
International
Iran issues threat to Trump as conflict escalates over Strait of Hormuz
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, threatened U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, warning him to “beware of being eliminated.”
The Republican president had warned on Monday that he would strike Iran “very hard” if the Islamic Republic blocked oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed since the war began eleven days ago.
“Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Others more powerful than you tried to destroy the Iranian nation and failed. Beware that you are not eliminated,” Larijani wrote on X.
Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards — the ideological military force of the Islamic Republic — also said their forces would move to block oil exports from the Gulf.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military offensive against Iran is far from over.
“Our aspiration is that the Iranian people free themselves from the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, that depends on them. But there is no doubt that with the measures taken so far we are breaking their bones, and we are not finished yet,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
International
Driver detained after suspicious vehicle incident near the White House
The driver was detained and no injuries were reported after an incident that occurred before dawn in Lafayette Square, just north of the White House.
The U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for presidential security, said in a statement that it was “investigating a suspicious vehicle.” The driver of the car was taken into custody and is currently being questioned.
Washington remains under heightened security measures amid the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Israel against Iran.
Police closed several major streets around the White House. However, by about 8:30 a.m. local time (12:30 GMT), government employees and staff from nearby institutions were allowed to pass through the area with proper identification, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
Dozens of emergency vehicles with flashing lights responded to the location, while tourists and residents waited for authorities to reopen the streets.
International
Trump Raises Possibility of “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Deepening Crisis
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reiterated Monday the possibility that Washington could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, amid the severe crisis facing the island following the oil blockade promoted by the U.S. government.
Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the president said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently “negotiating” with representatives of the Cuban government, although authorities in Havana have repeatedly denied that such talks are taking place.
Trump suggested that Washington could play a more direct role in the island’s future.
“It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money. They are in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis, and we really don’t want to see that,” the U.S. president said.
The president also argued that the Cuban government had long depended heavily on support from Venezuela, particularly oil supplies.
According to Trump, that support has been drastically reduced following measures adopted by Washington.
“They were living off Venezuela. Venezuela doesn’t send them energy, fuel, oil, money, or anything anymore. They couldn’t survive without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it, and we cut everything off,” Trump said.
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