Hamas may be led by a ruling council rather than a single leader

Gaza/Jerusalem (Reuters) - The Palestinian Islamist Resistance Movement (Hamas) is moving to appoint a ruling council based in Doha, rather than appointing a successor to its late leader, Ahmed Sinwar, sources said.

"The practice of the Hamas leadership is not to name a successor to the late leader Sinwar until after the next elections scheduled for March, when conditions permit," two sources told AFP.

Sinwar became the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2017, succeeding Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in July in the Iranian capital Tehran. Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip last week. Indeed, in August, after Haniyeh's assassination, Hamas set up a five-member committee to lead Hamas.

The five members of the committee based in Doha, Qatar's capital, are Khalil al-Hayya from the Gaza Strip, Zahir Jabarin from the West Bank, Khaled Mashaal representing Palestinians abroad, Mohammed Darwish, chairman of the Shura Council, Hamas' highest decision-making body, and the secretary of the Political bureau, who has not been identified, the sources said.

The entrepreneur offered a bounty to help bring the hostages home

On the other hand, the prospects for a cease-fire in the year-long Gaza war remain slim, and some Israeli entrepreneurs have adopted the strategy of "a good reward is a brave man," hoping to lure money to help the hostages return home.

Daniel Birnbaum, former CEO of soda maker SodaStream, told AFP on Monday that he announced on the social media platform X that he would offer $100,000 in cash or bitcoin to "anyone who brings back alive Israeli hostages from Gaza."

Israeli-american real estate developer David Hagel also began raising money. He told Israel's Channel 12 Sunday that he raised about $400,000. Friends who donated $100,000 each, he hopes to raise $10 million.

On October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, they took 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still being held in Gaza, 34 of whom are feared dead.

"I don't expect to get everyone back," Birnbaum said, "(but) I would be happy if we only got one hostage back."