Hamas temporary committee

The Hamas temporary committee (Arabic: لجنة حماس المؤقتة) was a five-person ruling committee that was formed by Hamas following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh on 31 July 2024 to facilitate decision-making given the difficulty of communicating with the newly appointed chairman, Yahya Sinwar, who was based in the Gaza Strip. The committee is based in Doha, Qatar, and is tasked with making strategic decisions and governing Hamas during the Gaza war and "exceptional circumstances". It was made up of five members: Khaled Mashal, Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, who represent the Palestinian diaspora, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, respectively, as well as chairman of the Shura Council Muhammad Ismail Darwish, and an unnamed official who serves as secretary of the Political Bureau. Following the killing of Sinwar in Rafah on 16 October, the committee initially discussed the possibility of appointing a single successor, but eventually opted to rule Hamas through the committee until the scheduled leadership elections in March 2025. On 24 October 2024, Hamas confirmed that it was discussing a successor to Sinwar and that it would announce their name once the selection process was complete. On 9 September 2025, all members of the temporary committee were targeted in the Israeli attack on Doha; the airstrike failed to assassinate the leadership of Hamas in Qatar. On 20 July 2026, the temporary committee announced that Khalil al-Hayya would takeover as overall leader, therefore dissolving the committee.