Al Jazeera photo shows Hamas’ top military commanders gathered years before Oct. 7 attack
Al Jazeera published a previously unseen image of what it describes as the last high‑ranking meeting of Hamas’ military leadership, held years before the October 7 attacks and attended by the Al‑Qassam Brigades’ commander, his deputy and all five brigade chiefs.
A newly released photograph of Hamas’ military leadership is giving analysts a clearer view of the command structure that existed years before the October 7 attacks on Israel.
Al Jazeera has published an image it says shows the last high‑ranking meeting of the Al‑Qassam Brigades’ General Headquarters held multiple years before October 7. Visible in the image are the commander of the General Headquarters, his deputy, and all five Hamas brigade commanders, including those responsible for the Northern, Gaza City, and Central brigades.
Pulling the entire top tier of commanders into one frame confirms who sat at the core of Hamas’ military chain of command at that point in time. For intelligence and military services, the photograph helps map relationships and roles, and offers a baseline for judging which figures may since have been killed, wounded, or forced deeper underground during the war that followed the October 7 assault.
The meeting captured in the photo predates the attacks by several years, but the decisions and planning by the men shown have had far‑reaching consequences. Their choices shaped the events of October 7, Israel’s subsequent military response, and the fate of civilians and fighters on both sides of the conflict.
Operationally, the image underlines how centralized Hamas’ military leadership appeared ahead of the attack. The presence of the top commander, his deputy, and all brigade chiefs in one room suggests a structured system for coordinating actions across different sectors of the Gaza Strip.
For Israel and its partners, each identified face and position in the photograph feeds into assessments of Hamas’ remaining leadership capacity and the likely impact of targeted operations. Knowing who belonged to the core leadership circle informs judgments about how the group might adapt if particular commanders are removed.
The release also illustrates how information about past decision‑making can surface long after the fact. A single image of a meeting held years earlier now plays into current debates about responsibility for the October 7 attack and expectations about Hamas’ resilience under sustained military pressure.
Future signals to track include any references to this photo in official Israeli briefings or intelligence assessments, and whether additional archival material emerges that sheds more light on internal dynamics within Hamas before the war.
Sources
- OSINT