Are senior Hamas officials who survived the war planning to leave Gaza? On Monday evening, the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat quoted "Hamas sources" who said several senior officials are preparing to leave the Strip in the near future.
According to those sources, the departure will occur after arrangements regarding Gaza's governance are completed. One source claimed it is a voluntary departure coordinated with the organization's leadership abroad. A source said several senior officials in "the military wing" refused to leave in any case.
It was also reported that the senior officials include figures appointed as part of the new arrangements, led by Ali al-Amudi, a senior Hamas official in the organization's Gaza leadership. The sources claimed that several released prisoners from the Shalit deal (the 2011 prisoner exchange), who are responsible for certain portfolios, intend to leave for Turkey.
However, a very senior official in Hamas' leadership abroad told Asharq Al-Awsat that he denies the reports about senior officials leaving the Gaza Strip. He claimed that "this issue has not been raised." Another source in Gaza said he has no information regarding this issue.
Nevertheless, the Hamas sources claimed that the senior officials will leave and stay abroad for at least several years in various countries. According to other sources, Hamas senior officials will leave to hold meetings in Egypt on policing mechanisms in Gaza, and then return.
