NewStats: 3,265,422 , 8,186,691 topics. Date: Saturday, 14 June 2025 at 09:14 PM i4o55

With the confirmed killing of Hamas's top military commander Mohammad Sinwar in an Israeli strike, a chapter has closed on the elite leadership group in Gaza that orchestrated the events of 7 October, 2023.

Sinwar's demise follows the confirmed killings of other central figures who sat on what came to be known inside Hamas as the War Council.

Sinwar, his brother Yahya, Marwan Issa and a fifth unidentified figure formed the clandestine core that decided on and directed the unprecedented assault on Israel - one which shook the region and set off the conflict still unfolding in Gaza.

The War Council, sometimes also known as the Quintet Council, operated under conditions of extreme security and secrecy.

Direct meetings between its were exceedingly rare. Instead, communication occurred through older technology deemed more secure, like cable phones, or via trusted intermediaries, all in an effort to minimise the risk of interception or detection.

This level of secrecy was not just tactical: it reflected the council's critical role in Hamas's strategic decision-making, especially in preparation for what became the most complex and deadly attack in the organisation's history

The known of the council included:

Mohammed Deif - the commander of Hamas's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, who is believed to have masterminded the 7 October attack. He was killed in an Israeli air strike in July 2024.

Yahya Sinwar - the political leader of Hamas in Gaza and its most influential decision-maker in recent years. He was killed in a firefight with Israeli troops in October 2024

Mohammad Sinwar - a senior military figure and Deif's trusted lieutenant. Israel said this week that it had identified his body in Gaza following an air strike in May.

Marwan Issa - Deif's deputy and a vital link between Hamas's military and political spheres. He was killed in an Israeli air strike in March 2024

A fifth figure - whose identity remains unknown to the public - who was in charge of organising Hamas's security apparatus. He was targeted in assassination attempts before the war and an air strike during it, and suffered such severe injuries that he can no longer communicate or carry out any activities, according to one source

The 7 October attack marked a seismic shift in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The scale and brutality of the attack stunned observers worldwide - not just for its immediate impact, but for its unprecedented scale.

Hamas's military preparations took years - including extensive tunnel construction and the steady accumulation of rockets and weapons - but few analysts, regional actors, or even rival Palestinian factions foresaw the magnitude of the offensive.

The group had long maintained strict control over Gazans and had often imposed harsh economic measures, including heavy taxes, on an already impoverished population to fund its military build-up.

Yet even within the movement, there appears to have been a limited understanding of the scale and consequences of the plan hatched by the War Council.

Its demise raises a profound question: what exactly drove its to pursue a course that many Palestinians have described as politically suicidal?

With Israel's overwhelming military response and the international isolation that followed, the 7 October attack has increasingly been viewed as a desperate gamble - one that lacked a clear political exit strategy and led to massive suffering for Gaza's civilian population.

Now, with most of the core decision-makers dead, uncovering the deeper motivations and strategic calculus behind the attack may no longer be possible.

What internal debates occurred within the council? Were there dissenting voices? Was this a bid for regional relevance, a provocation timed with regional shifts, or a last-ditch effort to break a long-standing siege?

Answers to these questions may have died with the men who conceived the plan.

The dismantling of the war council leaves Hamas facing a potential leadership vacuum at a critical time.

Its military capabilities have been severely degraded, its political leadership - who operated out of Qatar until November 2024, after which their whereabouts became unclear - is under intense pressure, and its traditional mechanisms of control within Gaza have been deeply disrupted.

The absence of a centralised strategic command may lead to fragmentation within Hamas, or the rise of new, perhaps more radical factions.

Alternatively, it may open a pathway for recalibration - if not by Hamas, then by other Palestinian actors seeking to fill the void left behind.

The fall of Hamas's War Council marks the end of a shadowy but powerful inner circle that shaped one of the most consequential decisions in the movement's history.

Whether their legacy will be seen by Palestinians as one of bold resistance or catastrophic miscalculation, one thing is certain: with their departure, a defining era in the leadership of Hamas has come to a close.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v7p9p0rn7o

doffman Expanse2020 what are you guys waiting for, this is your time to shine. Come nd fill this space

Collect and die , collect appointment and die , Isreal is the best treatment for radical islam

Love the way the IDF goes about its business of targeting and eliminating terrorists leaders, kudos to the men and women of the Israeli defence force.

Whao!
When cat dey sleep and rat go bite im tail.. wetin e dey find ooo..
Now the Palestinian people are left to bear the brunt of their leaders' indiscretions.

Let another sinwar step up to the plate

Where are the dead bodies of the SINWAR brothers?

It's a joy to watch a terrorist body you know

Their fellow Nigerian terrorism sympathizers should fill the vacant slots.

Na perfect opportunity for them to Japa be this

Mess with the Zionist and find out. Mossad is not a guy name

Kpaikpai kpaiama all them terrorists and their sympathizers,

The reason why this war doesn't bother me is because if the Islamists had the upper hand, they would do exactly the same thing especially since their books tell them to hunt Jews, so in a nutshell they are practically the same coin!
One side Zionist the other side Islamists!

SeeWahala:
Let another sinwar step up to the plate

.. e go "SeeWahala" if anybody try am.

I. Like the fact that isreal didn't joke with it's response to Hamas horror so next time... They won't try that shit again

In life don't start what you cannot finish.
Hamas priced market and could not pay for the goods when Israel agreed for the price.

You attacked Isreal, rape her women, killed babies, old men and women and took hundreds hostages without any provocation, and you expect them to just sit down, weep and beg you....crase jam higher crase.

I don't know, but can I apply to lead them? Do they have link where I can submit my CV?

Chai, E no easy for them

I won't be surprised if Benin Republic attack Nigeria same way Russia attack Ukraine

Country dey destroy country for this jungle we dey

Trust nobody

Never chew more than you can swallow or you'd be choked.

I hope Hamas have learnt this, so that in their next life should there be reincarnation they'd have learnt to know their place and not overestimate their capacity.

Wisdom is profitable to direct says the Holy Bible.

Isreal, sure gee. Kii them all, batstards

For 99% of the leaders of Hamas na bunker buster Israel use in sending them to the virgins. But I believe Israel Mossad knew about it even CIA but decided to allow them strike though miscalculated the toll. So that they will use the excuse and totally wipe out Hamas. Then Hezbollah started shouting and theirs didn't reach one year almost all their leaders are with virgins

obedience4:


https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v7p9p0rn7o

Naaaa
We have lots of nairaland terrorist sympathizers that can fill the void.

Where you guys at? Time to earn some virgins

MaziObinnaokija:

Yoruba Muslim why are you laughing?

Israel no be Arab people mate. They will learn in a hard way

Na wa o

Anybody when climb that post na dead man working

obedience4:


https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v7p9p0rn7o

They are reduced to chicken

Israel did well

They fight for their freedom nothing less than that. The agreement with Israelis and the Palestinian Libration Organisation PLO to implement a two-state known as Oslo Accords is the sole instigator of the 7th Oct attack, world knows that but the OP is not aware.

A lot of people here would not point any finger on Israel's injustice on the Palestinian people rather they will be driven by hatred and prejudice against Palestines because of them being Arabs or Muslims.

These types of people are many in this house. Wanting justice in their own country and wanting injustice in another person's country just because of prejudice.

Let's have some concerns and avoid double standards.

They just die in vain.wweetgggggyyyyyyyfffffff