Al Jazeera Photo Reveals Full Hamas Military Leadership Meeting Held Years Before Oct. 7
Al Jazeera has published a previously unseen image of a high‑level Hamas military meeting held multiple years before the October 7 attacks, capturing the Qassam Brigades’ commander, his deputy and five brigade chiefs in one frame.
A newly released photograph of Hamas’s top military leadership, taken years before the October 7 attacks on Israel, is giving analysts an unusually clear view of the group’s chain of command.
Al Jazeera has published what it describes as a previously unseen image showing a high‑ranking meeting of the Izz ad‑Din al‑Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing. In the image are the commander of the brigades’ General Headquarters, his deputy, and all five Hamas brigade commanders for the Northern, Gaza City, Central, Khan Younis and Rafah areas. The meeting took place multiple years before the October 7 attacks; the outlet did not specify the exact date or location.
Such a photograph is rare. Hamas’s senior military figures generally avoid appearing together in ways that clearly reveal who holds which role, since imagery can be used to track networks and target individuals. A single frame that shows the entire top tier of Qassam leadership offers material for comparing faces, roles and relative status with later footage and reports.
The image also feeds into ongoing debates about what was known about Hamas’s structure and planning in the years before October 7. It confirms a command architecture with a General Headquarters commander and deputy overseeing five geographic brigades covering the length of the Gaza Strip.
Each of those brigades is responsible for its own area and local units. Seeing all five commanders alongside the overall leadership underlines how Hamas coordinates activity across Gaza, even as its forces operate in separate zones.
The timing of the release, after the October 7 attacks and the ensuing war, gives both supporters and opponents of Hamas a visual reference for the people who held senior roles. For those focused on accountability, a clear record of who sat at the top of the organization can help when linking decisions to specific individuals.
The photograph underlines how documentation of leadership, even from years earlier, can gain new importance once events such as the October 7 attacks have taken place.
Developments to watch now include whether governments, research institutes or media outlets publish open analysis of the image, and whether further archival material appears that sheds light on Hamas’s internal structure in the period before October 7.
Sources
- OSINT