Hamas Leaders Preparing to Leave Gaza

With U.S. President Donald Trump planning to oversee a disarmament agreement with Hamas and establish the Board of Peace for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), senior Hamas commanders are preparing to leave the Gaza Strip. Ynet reports that the departure of the terror group’s leadership is expected to take place after NCAG arrangements are finalized. However, it remains unclear whether some leaders will leave voluntarily.

According to the sources, some of those expected to depart are figures recently appointed to leadership roles within Hamas’ political bureau in Gaza, as part of a reorganization led by Ali al-Amoudi. Al-Amoudi was a close associate of Yahya Sinwar, who led the Oct. 7 massacre and was killed by the military in October 2024. Like Sinwar, al-Amoudi was released in the 2011 prisoner exchange for captured soldier Gilad Shalit.

Sources in Gaza said the departures would be “without return, at least for several years,” with senior figures living in multiple countries. Other sources said some top Hamas leaders would leave temporarily to hold meetings in Egypt with senior security officials on critical issues related to future government security forces in Gaza and other key matters, before returning to the territory.

Trump also announced the establishment of the Gaza Executive Board alongside the Board of Peace. This interim body will reportedly include representatives from Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opposed any Turkish or Qatari forces being deployed in Gaza, particularly as some Hamas leaders are believed to be relocating to those countries. There are also reports that Hamas has been holding temporary meetings in Egypt.

Since the beginning of January, search efforts for Ran Gvili, the final hostage, have intensified, while the framework for phase two of postwar Gaza has taken shape. The Fellowship and our supporters pray that this multinational effort will help move Israel and Gaza into a brighter, new chapter of shalom, peace.