Three years after the elimination of former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani: the deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, was eliminated in a UAV strike in the heart of Beirut. However, al-Arouri is just one of a line of senior officials in the political bureau abroad and Gaza.
The head of the bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and his deputy, Musa Abu Marzouk, are still alive and kicking. The two are in charge of foreign relations and fundraising for the terrorist organization.
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There is also the head of the Hamas "diaspora", Khaled Mashal, who served as the leader of the terrorist organization in the past. The elimination also sends an important message to those people managing the negotiations regarding the release of the captives: No one is safe. Other senior bureau members from Hamas in Gaza who currently live abroad now could be also on the list of targets. The most significant among them is Fathi Hamad, who is apparently in Turkey. Hamad was previously responsible for establishing Hamas' propaganda mouthpieces, 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 he is also engaged there in terrorist activity. It seems, not by chance, that Turkish intelligence reported this week on the arrest of about 30 suspects in cooperation with Mossad.
In a sense, drying up the economic and political infrastructure of Hamas abroad is no less meaningful than dismantling the brigades of the military wing in the Strip. Defense Minister Yoav Galant confirmed that two northern Strip brigades collapsed and the IDF is now expected to focus mainly on mopping up the remaining terror cells. More than 8,000 terrorists were killed and many of them fled to the southern part of the strip, to defend Khan Yunis.
Video: Dozens surrender in Gaza / Social media
However, if Hamas survives as a political entity after the war, it will still seek ways to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel and worldwide. Just recently, the Shin Bet and Mossad foiled an attack in Denmark. Haniyeh himself expressed hope this week that the organization would somehow manage to integrate into the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in one way or another. The plan, it seems, is to survive at least as a political party the day after the war.
Eliminating the organization's foreign leadership will not be the end. Although Israel has eliminated a line of commanders in the military wing in Gaza, including northern and central zone commanders, many of them are still lurking in the Strip.
The main targets are Yahya Sinwar, who heads Hamas in Gaza, and the heads of the military wing: Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, Raad Saad, and Rafea Salama. Alongside them can be listed other senior commanders such as Az a-Din al-Haddad, the northern Gaza City brigade commander in Hamas, most of whose battalions have already been eliminated. It can be hoped that with the defeat of the leadership of the terrorist organization, many of its capabilities will be destroyed.
