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Freed Prisoner Close to Sinwar Leading ‘Revolution’ Within Hamas in Gaza

The sun sets over a tent camp sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Israeli offensive, on New Year’ Eve in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 31, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The sun sets over a tent camp sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Israeli offensive, on New Year’ Eve in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 31, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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Freed Prisoner Close to Sinwar Leading ‘Revolution’ Within Hamas in Gaza

The sun sets over a tent camp sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Israeli offensive, on New Year’ Eve in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 31, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The sun sets over a tent camp sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Israeli offensive, on New Year’ Eve in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 31, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Hamas has undergone a series of leadership changes in the Gaza Strip following the assassination of several senior figures during the two-year Israeli war, increasing the influence of individuals close to the movement’s former leader, Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in clashes with the Israeli army in Rafah in October 2024.

According to Hamas sources, freed prisoner Ali al-Amoudi, a member of the political bureau and former head of the movement’s media department, has assumed the role of acting head of Hamas’ political bureau in Gaza.

Al-Amoudi was tasked, along with several figures close to Sinwar, with managing the movement’s affairs in the Palestinian enclave, most of whom are based in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Al-Amoudi, who was released as part of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal in 2011, has become the central figure in managing the impoverished territory. He was among those very close to Sinwar during their imprisonment in Israeli jails and after their release, accompanying him frequently to meetings and events.

Several sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that no elections took place for the political bureau. Rather, the process was carried out through appointment and consultation.

While some sources said the process took place “by circumventing by-laws,” others explained that the aim was “to fill internal gaps,” saying “all those chosen - such as Tawfiq Abu Naim, Salah Abu Sharkh - are close to Sinwar.”

The sources say that al-Amoudi is currently leading what can be described as a “revolution” within Hamas in Gaza. He has moved to replace some local leaders, especially officials of regional administrative bodies who were wounded in Israeli attacks.

Yet, he is still seeking to appoint replacements for former leaders who were assassinated, removed from their posts, or transferred to other positions.

According to some sources, his policies have angered local Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, as well as leaders abroad.

Members of the political bureau outside the territory reportedly informed local leaders that what happened “violates internal regulations, and that it is necessary to wait for the election of the movement’s head in the coming days, so that agreement can be reached on temporarily filling vacancies within the leadership of some regions until general elections are held after a year.”

The sources said that the “state of chaos” prevailing at the political level within Hamas in the Gaza Strip contrasts with a state of stability within the military wing, which continues to reorganize systematically.

They explained that Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the new leader of al-Qassam Brigades, is holding a series of meetings to appoint leaders who would replace figures assassinated or killed during the war.

According to the sources, al-Haddad is working to fill vacancies in various leadership positions, including commanders of brigades in some areas, while retaining others who had been chosen to run those brigades after their commanders were killed.

During the war, Israel assassinated most of the brigade commanders in the Gaza Strip (Northern, Central, Khan Younis, and Rafah), with the exception of the Gaza City Brigade, which was led by al-Haddad, who was replaced by Muhannad Rajab.

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Arab World

Settlers Force Re-burial of Palestinian Man in West Bank, Family Says 

Israeli settlement structuers being installed in Sanur near Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli settlement structuers being installed in Sanur near Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
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Settlers Force Re-burial of Palestinian Man in West Bank, Family Says 

Israeli settlement structuers being installed in Sanur near Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli settlement structuers being installed in Sanur near Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank forced Palestinians to exhume the body of their father from his freshly dug village grave, his family said, near a settlement re-established by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Hussein Asasa, 80, died on Friday of natural causes and was buried that evening at the cemetery of Asasa village near Jenin, with all the necessary permits from Israel's military, whose forces were at the site, his son Mohammed said.

But shortly after the burial, the family was called back by some of the villagers, who said settlers were at the grave, ordering the grave be dug up.

"They said the land was for settlement and that burial was not allowed. We told them that this is the village's cemetery, not part of the settlement," said Asasa, Reuters reported.

The settlers then threatened to dig the grave up with a bulldozer, Asasa said, so the family decided to exhume their father's body themselves.

"We found that they already dug the grave and reached the body," Asasa said. "We continued digging and got the body and buried him in another cemetery," he said.

VIDEO SHOWS PEOPLE REMOVING A BODY

Video circulating on social media appeared to show settlers watching as people dig in the ground of a hill slope. They then carry away what looks like a body as Israeli troops walk behind them. Reuters verified the location as Asasa.

The Israeli military said that the funeral had been coordinated with it and that it had not instructed the family to rebury their father. Soldiers were sent to the scene following a report about a confrontation with settlers who were "digging in the area," the military said. "The soldiers confiscated digging tools from the Israeli civilians and remained at the location in order to prevent further friction," the military said. It added that it condemns actions that violate the "dignity of the living and the deceased".

The UN Human Rights Office condemned the incident.

"This is appalling and emblematic of the dehumanisation of Palestinians that we see unfolding across the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories). It spares no one, dead or alive," said Ajith Sunghay, head of the OHCHR Palestinian office.

Sa-Nur was one of 19 settlements evacuated under the 2005 Israeli disengagement plan, which also included Israel's withdrawal of settlers and troops from Gaza. Netanyahu's government approved Sa-Nur's re-establishment a year ago and construction has advanced rapidly, according to Peace Now, an Israeli settlement watchdog.

The West Bank is among the territories that Palestinians seek for an independent state. Israel cites historical and biblical ties to the land, as well as security needs.

Netanyahu's government, which staunchly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, has been accelerating settlement building, while a rise in attacks by settlers on Palestinians has drawn international alarm. The United Nations and most countries deem Israel's settlements on West Bank land captured in the 1967 war illegal, a view that Israel disputes.

Arab World

Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Released from Israel Detention and Deported

Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee members Susan Abdallah, Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri, Suemeyra Akdeniz Ordu, Maimon Herawati, Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek, Eva Saldana, Greenpeace Spain; Maria Serra, GSF Catalunya and Oscar Camps, Open Arms attend a press conference as humanitarian flotilla prepares to depart for Gaza, from Barcelona, Spain, April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee members Susan Abdallah, Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri, Suemeyra Akdeniz Ordu, Maimon Herawati, Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek, Eva Saldana, Greenpeace Spain; Maria Serra, GSF Catalunya and Oscar Camps, Open Arms attend a press conference as humanitarian flotilla prepares to depart for Gaza, from Barcelona, Spain, April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Albert Gea
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Gaza Flotilla Activists to Be Released from Israel Detention and Deported

Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee members Susan Abdallah, Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri, Suemeyra Akdeniz Ordu, Maimon Herawati, Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek, Eva Saldana, Greenpeace Spain; Maria Serra, GSF Catalunya and Oscar Camps, Open Arms attend a press conference as humanitarian flotilla prepares to depart for Gaza, from Barcelona, Spain, April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee members Susan Abdallah, Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri, Suemeyra Akdeniz Ordu, Maimon Herawati, Thiago Avila and Saif Abukeshek, Eva Saldana, Greenpeace Spain; Maria Serra, GSF Catalunya and Oscar Camps, Open Arms attend a press conference as humanitarian flotilla prepares to depart for Gaza, from Barcelona, Spain, April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Two activists arrested last month when Israeli forces intercepted the Gaza-bound flotilla they were travelling on are expected to be deported in the coming days after being released from security detention on Saturday, their lawyers said. Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities on April 29 and brought to Israel. The activists were part of a second Global Sumud Flotilla launched from Spain on April 12 to try to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering aid to the enclave.

Israel's foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was suspected of affiliation with a terrorist organization and Avila was suspected of illegal activity. Both denied the allegations, Reuters reported.

BRAZIL AND SPAIN SAID THE DETENTION WAS UNLAWFUL

The governments of Spain and Brazil said Abu Keshek's and Avila's detention was unlawful, but Israel's Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court remanded them in custody until May 10.

Human rights group Adalah, which has assisted in their legal defense and also said the detention was unlawful, said that Abu Keshek and Avila were informed that they will be released from detention on Saturday and handed over to immigration authorities' custody until their deportation.

"Adalah is closely monitoring developments to make sure that the release from detention goes ahead, followed by their deportation from Israel in the coming days," the group said. Israeli officials were not immediately reachable for comment.

Israeli authorities held them under suspicion of offences that included aiding the enemy and contact with a terrorist group.

Gaza is largely run by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by Israel and much of the West. The group's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel started the Gaza war that has left much of the enclave's population homeless and dependent on aid - that humanitarian agencies say is arriving too slowly.

Arab World

EU Official Urges Increased Humanitarian Access in South Lebanon

Israeli troops maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 08 May 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Israeli troops maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 08 May 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
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EU Official Urges Increased Humanitarian Access in South Lebanon

Israeli troops maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 08 May 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
Israeli troops maneuver on the Lebanese side of the border, as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, 08 May 2026, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

European Union crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib on Saturday urged increased humanitarian access in south Lebanon, where Israel has kept up strikes and Hezbollah has been launching attacks despite a ceasefire.

"Humanitarian aid is ready, but too often it cannot reach those who need it most," Lahbib told a news conference on the second day of her visit to Lebanon, ahead of an expected EU aid delivery.

A ceasefire came into effect on April 17 but Israel has kept up strikes. Its troops are operating inside an Israeli-announced "yellow line" that runs around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep inside Lebanon along the border, where Lebanese have been warned not to return.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel reserves the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks".

With both sides trading accusations of truce violations, the Iran-backed Hezbollah has also announced attacks, mainly on Israeli targets in south Lebanon.

"South of the Litani River, access is still severely restricted due to evacuation orders and Israeli military activity. And this includes 55 villages below the so-called yellow line," Lahbib said.

The Litani River runs around 30 kilometres from the border, an area where many of the attacks since the ceasefire have taken place.

She noted that key infrastructure including bridges over the Litani have been destroyed, "and that means longer routes, people waiting days and days for help".

"Even north of the Litani River, where some of these constraints have eased, it is still not enough. We need humanitarian access in full respect of international humanitarian law. Aid cannot save lives if it cannot reach people," she said.

Lahbib said that since the start of the war, the European Union had announced some 100 million euros in new humanitarian support for Lebanon and had sent six planes carrying aid, with a seventh due to arrive in the coming days.

Authorities say more than 2,750 people have been killed since March 2, including at least 104 health and emergency workers, with Israeli strikes having killed dozens since the ceasefire.

More than one million people have been displaced.

"Hospitals and ambulances targeted and journalists attacked for simply doing their job -- there is no justification for this. International humanitarian law must be respected," Lahbib said.

"This crisis is not over, so all support for the Lebanese people must continue," she said.