Sentenced to three life terms, freed in Shalit deal: Meet Hamas’s new leader in Gaza

A convicted terrorist sentenced to three life terms for his role in murdering a Shin Bet officer has emerged as Hamas’s de facto leader in Gaza. Ali al-Amoudi, a close confidant of Yahya Sinwar, has risen to the top as Israel eliminates successive generations of Hamas commanders. An Israeli assassination attempt against him last week increasingly appears to have failed.

Al-Amoudi was involved in the 1994 murder of Shin Bet officer Noam Cohen and was released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. He later became Sinwar’s chief of staff and a key figure in Hamas’s propaganda apparatus. Now overseeing efforts to rebuild the terrorist group’s governing institutions, he is competing for formal leadership in Gaza, backed by senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya. His faction favors rebuilding Hamas’s military strength and continuing its war against Israel.

Three years after October 7, Hamas has lost much of its military strength and most of its senior leadership — but not its grip on Gaza. Israel controls more than 60% of the territory, yet Hamas remains the dominant force in areas housing roughly two million Palestinians, rapidly replacing eliminated commanders and rebuilding its institutions. Al-Amoudi’s rise underscores a troubling reality: Israel has devastated Hamas militarily, but eliminating its leaders has not dismantled the terrorist group’s rule.