IDF attempted to eliminate Ali al-Amoudi, Sinwar's successor, outcome still unknown

The IDF attempted to eliminate Ali al-Amoudi on Simchat Torah, who served as Sinwar's successor and is currently described as 'the man running Gaza,' but the IDF has not yet obtained final confirmation of the attempt's success or failure.

The IDF attempted to eliminate senior terrorist Ali al-Amoudi on Saturday, Simchat Torah, three years after the morning of Black Saturday, who served as Sinwar's successor and is currently described as 'the man running Gaza.' According to reports, the results of the elimination are still unclear, and the IDF has not yet obtained final confirmation of the attempt's success or failure.

Al-Amoudi spent 20 years in prison, was released along with Yahya Sinwar in the Shalit deal in 2011 and was among the leadership's senior members. Before the war, he headed Hamas' media apparatus, and after Sinwar's elimination, he effectively served as the organization's leader in the strip. According to reports, he led Hamas' deception plan, under which the organization is 'dismantling its weapons,' and he was responsible for transferring Hamas' civil governance mechanism to the Technocrats Committee of the Peace Council headed by Nikolai Mladenov.

Three Hamas sources inside the strip, quoted in the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, cast doubt on whether he was eliminated. One estimated that al-Amoudi was at the location but may have survived, while another source claimed it was premature to determine, but it was more likely he was not there. In Gaza, five deaths were reported in the strike, including Bilal Odah, the young son of Muhammad Odah, who according to reports served as the successor to Hamas' military wing commander.

Last September, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that al-Amoudi was competing with Nizar Awadallah for the leadership of Hamas' political bureau in Gaza, after the first round was inconclusive and the deciding round was frozen due to disputes and appeals to the proceedings.