Hamas Seeks to Name Haniyeh’s Successor as Soon as Possible

A Palestinian girl cries after an Israeli airstrike hit a school complex in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City, on Saturday. (AFP)
A Palestinian girl cries after an Israeli airstrike hit a school complex in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City, on Saturday. (AFP)
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Hamas Seeks to Name Haniyeh’s Successor as Soon as Possible

A Palestinian girl cries after an Israeli airstrike hit a school complex in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City, on Saturday. (AFP)
A Palestinian girl cries after an Israeli airstrike hit a school complex in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City, on Saturday. (AFP)

Informed Hamas sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that until Sunday, no person had been chosen to head the movement’s political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week.

The sources confirmed that there are ongoing consultations in an attempt to implement the movement’s by-laws, amid a vacuum in many senior positions in the Shura Council and its executive body.

On Saturday, Hamas said in a statement that it had “begun a broad consultation process in its leadership and Shura institutions to choose a new head of the movement” following Haniyeh’s assassination, which was blamed on Israel.

Several potential candidates can be chosen to assume the position, including Khaled Meshaal, Musa Abu Marzouk, Yehya Al-Sanwar, Khalil Al-Hayya, and Zaher Jabareen.

Asharq Al-Awsat sources suggest that Meshaal is likely to be selected as head of the movement to replace Haniyeh until the end of the war, perhaps before holding early elections at the end of the current stage.

According to the sources, the presence of prominent leaders from within the movement abroad, specifically in Qatar, will help in overcoming the current crises and trying to expedite the steps to choose the prospective personality.

Meshaal is the former head of Hamas, and has lived in exile since 1967, moving between Jordan, Qatar, Syria, and other countries.

He was chosen as head of the movement’s political bureau after Israel assassinated the founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and after him, his successor in the Palestinian territories, Abdulaziz Al-Rantisi.



US-backed Gaza Aid Group to Halt Distribution on Wednesday, UN to Vote on Ceasefire Demand 

Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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US-backed Gaza Aid Group to Halt Distribution on Wednesday, UN to Vote on Ceasefire Demand 

Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will not give out any aid on Wednesday as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites, a day after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed.

The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to "guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks" near military perimeters; develop clearer guidance for civilians; and enhance training to support civilian safety.

"Our top priority remains ensuring the safety and dignity of civilians receiving aid," said a GHF spokesperson. An Israeli military spokesperson warned civilians against moving in areas leading to GHF sites on Wednesday, deeming them "combat zones".

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it opened fire on a group of people it viewed as a threat near a GHF food aid distribution site. The International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 27 people were killed and dozens injured. The GHF said the incident was "well beyond" its site.

Palestinians who collected food GHF boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no-one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs, as crowds jostled for aid.

The UN Security Council is also set to vote on Wednesday on a demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas and humanitarian access across Gaza, where aid has trickled amid chaos and bloodshed after Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on the enclave where famine looms.

"It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday, adding that the aid distribution model backed by the US and Israel was "all a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what is going on."

That model is run by the newly created GHF, which started operations in the enclave a week ago and said on Tuesday that it has given out more than seven million meals from three so-called secure distribution sites. GHF Interim Executive Director John Acree urged humanitarians in Gaza: "Work with us and we will get your aid delivered to those who are depending on it."

US VETO?

The UN and other aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and the distribution model militarizes aid. GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get aid to the distribution sites.

It is the latest in a string of efforts to get more aid into the enclave, where experts say the entire population of some 2.1 million people is at risk of famine. Jordan last year spearheaded humanitarian air drops, while the US briefly installed a floating aid pier, but it was beset by challenges.

The UN has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

Israel said on Tuesday that three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza. Gaza health officials said at least 18 more Palestinians were killed in other military strikes in the territory on Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza.

The 10 elected members of the UN Security Council have asked for the 15-member body to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution that demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties."

The draft text, seen by Reuters, also demands the release of all hostages held by Hamas and others, and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid and its safe and unhindered distribution, including by the UN, throughout Gaza.

"The time to act has already passed," Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told Reuters. "It is our historical responsibility not to remain silent."

As US President Donald Trump's administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, it was not immediately clear if Washington would veto the draft text. A spokesperson for the US mission to the UN said: "We cannot preview our actions currently under consideration."

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain or France - to pass.

The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, which do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.