After Israel killed a string of its leaders, Hamas anointed new commanders to top ranks, this time shrouding their identities in secrecy to protect them from assassination.

Israel vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack, launching a blistering offensive in Gaza that has massively weakened the movement while reducing much of the territory to rubble.

Hamas's political chief Ismail Haniyeh, the head of its armed wing Mohammed Deif, and Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 attack, have all been killed, as have a string of other commanders and political figures.

Yet unlike its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, whose cult of personality around its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah was a key pillar of its identity, Hamas has placed less of an emphasis on its top ranks.

The group has remained tight-lipped over the names of its top ranks, particularly the Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades.

"The name of the head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades will remain a secret," said a source close to Hamas's armed wing.

Researchers say it is likely that the role was inherited by Yahya Sinwar's younger........

© International Business Times