Who will succeed Yahya Sinwar as Hamas political chief?

The political chief of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by war crimes convicted Israel during a military operation in Rafah on Wednesday.

The development came after the Israeli army said it was "investigating the possibility" that Sinwar had been killed in Gaza. 

However, the news was not confirmed by the Palestinian resistance group till the filing of this news.

Sinwar became the overall head of Hamas after Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran on July 31. He was previously the chief of Hamas in Gaza.

Among the other top Hamas leaders and commanders are:

Khaled Meshaal:

Khaled Meshaal had led Hamas between 2004 and 2017. In 1997, Israeli agents tried to kill him by injecting him with poison in Jordan's Amman. However, he remained safe in the Israeli plot.

Meshaal, along with several other Hamas leaders, now lives in Qatar.

Marwan Issa:

Marwan Issa was Hamas' deputy military leader. Israel reported killing him in March, but Hamas hasn't confirmed his death. 

Issa, nicknamed "the shadow man," was part of a secretive three-man military council alongside two other top leaders, Haniyeh and Sinwar.

Mohammad Sinwar:

Mohammad Sinwar, Yahya's brother, is a veteran commander of Hamas' armed wing. He was born on September 15, 1975, in Gaza. 

He rarely appears in public or speaks to media. Mohammad has survived several Israeli attempts on his life.

Khalil al-Hayya:

He was Sinwar's deputy and led Hamas' team in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel. Hayya was in the same residence as Haniyeh during the latter's assassination in Tehran but wasn't in the same apartment.

Mahmoud al-Zahar:

Mahmoud al-Zahar, also known as General due to his strict views for Israel, is a surgeon by profession. Zahar survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 2003 and served as Hamas-appointed foreign affairs minister after Hamas formed a government in Gaza in 2007.

Mohammad Shabana:

Mohammad Shabana, who is an old-timer soldier of Hamas, heads his brigade in Rafah. Israel accused him of developing a network of tunnels in Gaza, which according to Tel Aviv is used for attacking its soldiers.

Rawhi Mushtaha:

Sinwar and his close aide Rawhi Mushtaha had founded Hamas' first security battalion in 1980 to track and kill the Palestinians accused of spying for Israel.

Israel reported killing Mushtaha in a strike three months ago, but Hamas hasn't confirmed or denied this.