Report: Hamas set to elect a new leader soon, with pro-Iranian candidate Hayya likely to win<\/a><\/h4>\nHamas is expected to elect a new leader within days or a few weeks, Saudi outlet Asharq reports, citing sources close to the group\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
However, the same sources also reportedly \u201cruled out holding general elections before the war comes to a complete end.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two main candidates are reportedly former Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal and current Gaza politburo chief Khalil al-Hayya.<\/p>\n
Their main immediate policy difference relates to the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to the sources. Hayya, who is seen as close to Iran, is said to support the continuation of \u201carmed conflict with Israel in the Gaza Strip until the war ends and the Israeli army withdraws from the Strip entirely,\u201d while Mashaal, who is seen as closer to Qatar, is said to seek \u201cnegotiated compromises to end the occupation of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mashaal also reportedly supports \u201ctrying to move Hamas away from Iran\u201d and \u201ccloser to the moderate Arab states,\u201d the sources tell Asharq.<\/p>\n
The sources cited by Asharq say Hayya will likely win, as he enjoys the support of Hamas leaders in both Gaza and the West Bank, including West Bank politburo chief Zaher Jabarin.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static-cdn.toi-media.com\/www\/uploads\/2023\/12\/346R2VJ-highres-e1701955927536-640x400.jpg\")
Palestinians raise the flag of the Hamas terror group during a rally in the West Bank city of Hebron, on December 1, 2023. (Hazem Bader\/AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAccording to Asharq, the electing body is Hamas\u2019s general Shura council, which comprises some 50 members representing Hamas\u2019s three regional politburos \u2014 Gaza, the West Bank and the Palestinian diaspora.<\/p>\n
Hamas elects a new leader every four years, according to Asharq. The last elections took place in March 2021, and the current ones were scheduled to take place in early 2025, but were pushed off due to the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n
The leader elected in 2021, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated by Israel in Tehran in July 2024. His successor, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israeli troops in Rafah in October that year.<\/p>\n
Since then, according to Asharq, Hamas has been led by a provisional leadership council that is headed by the general Shura council chief Muhammad Ismail Darwish and also includes Hayya, Mashaal, Jabarin and Gaza politburo member Nizar Awadallah.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/static-cdn.toi-media.com\/www\/uploads\/2024\/11\/hamas-heads-640x400.jpeg\")
A composite image of the five members of Hamas\u2019s temporary joint leadership. Top row from left: Zaher Jabarin, Khaled Mashaal, Khalil al-Hayya. Bottom row from left: Muhammad Ismail Darwish, Nizar Awadallah. (Credits: Mahmud Hams\/AFP, Louai Beshara\/AFP, Hamas, Ashraf Amra\/APA\/ZUMA Press via Alamy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAsharq cites observers close to Hamas as saying its resolve to hold elections now is a result of both the ceasefire with Israel and disagreement within the provisional leadership council about issues including \u201cthe fate of the movement\u2019s rule in Gaza and regional alliances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under US President Donald Trump\u2019s Gaza ceasefire plan, Hamas is required to cede control of Gaza to international forces. However, Hamas leaders, including Hayya and Mashaal, have called for the international forces to serve only as a buffer between Israel and Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\nSomalia\u2019s Al-Shabaab vows to fight any Israeli use of Somaliland after recognition<\/a><\/h4>\nSomalia\u2019s Al-Qaeda-linked terror group Al-Shabaab vowed Saturday to fight any attempt by Israel \u201cto claim or use parts of Somaliland\u201d following its recognition of the breakaway territory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not accept it, and we will fight against it,\u201d Al-Shabaab said in a statement.<\/p>\n
It said Israel\u2019s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state showed it \u201chas decided to expand into parts of the Somali territories\u201d to support \u201cthe apostate administration in the northwest regions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\nUkraine anti-corruption agency says it tried to raid parliament, stopped by guards<\/a><\/h4>\nUkraine\u2019s anti-corruption agency says security services are preventing its officers from raiding the parliament, as the investigators say some MPs were implicated in a new organized crime probe.<\/p>\n
\u201cNABU and SAPO, following an undercover operation, exposed an organized criminal group that included current members of parliament,\u201d the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) says.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployees of the State Security Department are resisting NABU officers during investigative actions in committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,\u201d it adds, referring to Ukraine\u2019s parliament.<\/p>\n
\nBREAKING: Anti-corruption agencies are currently conducting searches and arrests in Kyiv’s government quarter!!!<\/p>\n
An investigation into corruption within President Zelenskyy’s inner circle is ongoing, targeting MPs from his party. pic.twitter.com\/fRuETdhseV<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 ???? Sweta???? (@Sweta10t) December 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nAccording to local reports, NABU officers are currently carrying out arrests inside Kyiv\u2019s government district, though they have not yet gained access to the parliament building itself.<\/p>\n
The attempted raid comes amid an ongoing corruption scandal at the heart of Ukraine\u2019s government, which has forced the resignation of several top officials in President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s inner circle, including his longtime chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who stepped down<\/a> last month after being implicated in the ongoing investigation.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\nIDF says forces continuing large-scale op in West Bank town after yesterday\u2019s terror attack<\/a><\/h4>\nIsraeli security forces are continuing a large-scale counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya following a deadly ramming-stabbing attack in northern Israel yesterday, the military says.<\/p>\n
According to the IDF, forces from the Duvdevan commando unit, the Paratroopers reconnaissance unit, the Border Police, and the Israel Prison Service\u2019s Metzada unit are operating in the area. During the operation, troops arrested five terror suspects and questioned dozens of additional individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.<\/p>\n
The military says Paratroopers reconnaissance forces carried out mortar fire in the Qabatiya area overnight. Troops also raided and mapped the home of the assailant and cordoned off the immediate area.<\/p>\n
A full curfew has been imposed on Qabatiya, with engineering forces carrying out blockades across the town. The IDF adds that aerial forces are providing fire support and reconnaissance over Qabatiya and the nearby Jenin area, while additional forces continue to reinforce the seam line, a swath of West Bank land on the Israeli side of the security barrier.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\nPolice arrest 5 during raid in Negev Bedouin town after arson attack in nearby Jewish town<\/a><\/h4>\nPolice have arrested five people during a large-scale raid today on Tarabin al-Sana, a Bedouin town in the Negev, after two masked individuals set fire to cars in a neighboring Jewish town overnight.<\/p>\n
Police claim the incident \u2014 in which the two suspects damaged dozens of vehicles \u2014 was a \u201crevenge operation\u201d for another police raid on the Bedouin village last night.<\/p>\n
In security camera footage from the incident, the men are seen attempting to set fire to two cars parked on the street in Giv\u2019ot Bar, just north of Tarabin al-Sana.<\/p>\n
According to local outlets, the suspected attackers used a wire cutter to break through the town\u2019s fence and then set cars on fire. Residents reportedly woke up to the sound of explosions.<\/p>\n
Officers and Border Police are continuing to operate in Tarabin al-Sana. Of the five arrested today, several are suspected in last night\u2019s arson, a police spokesman tells The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\nItaly arrests seven for diverting $8 million in donations for Palestinians to fund Hamas<\/a><\/h4>\nItalian police say that they have arrested seven people suspected of raising millions of euros for Hamas under the guise of fundraising for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.<\/p>\n
Police also issue international arrests for two others outside the country.<\/p>\n
Three associations, officially supporting Palestinian civilians but allegedly serving as a front for funding Hamas, are implicated in the investigation, a police statement says.<\/p>\n
The nine individuals are accused of having financed approximately seven million euros ($8 million) to \u201cassociations based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the official objective of the three associations was to collect donations \u201cfor humanitarian purposes for the Palestinian people,\u201d more than 71 percent was earmarked for the direct financing of Hamas\u201d or entities affiliated with the Islamist terror group, according to police.<\/p>\n
Some of the money went to \u201cfamily members implicated in terrorist attacks,\u201d the statement says.<\/p>\n
Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, according to media reports.<\/p>\n
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi posts on X that the operation \u201clifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\nUkraine: 1\/3 of Kyiv without heat after attack; Zelensky: shows Russia doesn\u2019t want to end war<\/a><\/h4>\nA third of Kyiv has been left without heating after a vast overnight Russian attack, according to Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky says the major bombardment shows Moscow does \u201cnot want to end the war.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia\u2019s only response to peace efforts is brutal attacks using hundreds of drones and missiles against Kyiv and other cities and regions,\u201d foreign minister Andrii Sybiha writes on X, saying the attack left much of the capital city without power and heat. The temperature in Kyiv is around zero degrees Celsius (32\u00b0F) today.<\/p>\n
The Russians \u201cdo not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering and increase their pressure on others around the world,\u201d Zelensky says after the Russian barrage pummeled the capital killing at least one person and injuring at least 11.<\/p>\n
Zelensky issues the comments ahead of his departure for talks in the United States with President Donald Trump on a plan to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\nIDF says shots fired near West Bank checkpoint came from hunters, not terror attack<\/a><\/h4>\nThe IDF says a shooting incident near the Hashmonaim checkpoint in the West Bank was carried out by hunters and was not an attempted terror attack.<\/p>\n
There were no injuries in the incident, but the IDF deployed a large force to look for the shooter.<\/p>\n
The IDF says searches will continue for the hunters in order to confiscate their weapons.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
According to Asharq, the electing body is Hamas\u2019s general Shura council, which comprises some 50 members representing Hamas\u2019s three regional politburos \u2014 Gaza, the West Bank and the Palestinian diaspora.<\/p>\n
Hamas elects a new leader every four years, according to Asharq. The last elections took place in March 2021, and the current ones were scheduled to take place in early 2025, but were pushed off due to the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n
The leader elected in 2021, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated by Israel in Tehran in July 2024. His successor, Yahya Sinwar, was killed by Israeli troops in Rafah in October that year.<\/p>\n
Since then, according to Asharq, Hamas has been led by a provisional leadership council that is headed by the general Shura council chief Muhammad Ismail Darwish and also includes Hayya, Mashaal, Jabarin and Gaza politburo member Nizar Awadallah.<\/p>\n Asharq cites observers close to Hamas as saying its resolve to hold elections now is a result of both the ceasefire with Israel and disagreement within the provisional leadership council about issues including \u201cthe fate of the movement\u2019s rule in Gaza and regional alliances.\u201d<\/p>\n Under US President Donald Trump\u2019s Gaza ceasefire plan, Hamas is required to cede control of Gaza to international forces. However, Hamas leaders, including Hayya and Mashaal, have called for the international forces to serve only as a buffer between Israel and Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Somalia\u2019s Al-Qaeda-linked terror group Al-Shabaab vowed Saturday to fight any attempt by Israel \u201cto claim or use parts of Somaliland\u201d following its recognition of the breakaway territory.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not accept it, and we will fight against it,\u201d Al-Shabaab said in a statement.<\/p>\n It said Israel\u2019s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state showed it \u201chas decided to expand into parts of the Somali territories\u201d to support \u201cthe apostate administration in the northwest regions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Ukraine\u2019s anti-corruption agency says security services are preventing its officers from raiding the parliament, as the investigators say some MPs were implicated in a new organized crime probe.<\/p>\n \u201cNABU and SAPO, following an undercover operation, exposed an organized criminal group that included current members of parliament,\u201d the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) says.<\/p>\n \u201cEmployees of the State Security Department are resisting NABU officers during investigative actions in committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine,\u201d it adds, referring to Ukraine\u2019s parliament.<\/p>\n BREAKING: Anti-corruption agencies are currently conducting searches and arrests in Kyiv’s government quarter!!!<\/p>\n An investigation into corruption within President Zelenskyy’s inner circle is ongoing, targeting MPs from his party. pic.twitter.com\/fRuETdhseV<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ???? Sweta???? (@Sweta10t) December 27, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n According to local reports, NABU officers are currently carrying out arrests inside Kyiv\u2019s government district, though they have not yet gained access to the parliament building itself.<\/p>\n The attempted raid comes amid an ongoing corruption scandal at the heart of Ukraine\u2019s government, which has forced the resignation of several top officials in President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s inner circle, including his longtime chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who stepped down<\/a> last month after being implicated in the ongoing investigation. Israeli security forces are continuing a large-scale counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya following a deadly ramming-stabbing attack in northern Israel yesterday, the military says.<\/p>\n According to the IDF, forces from the Duvdevan commando unit, the Paratroopers reconnaissance unit, the Border Police, and the Israel Prison Service\u2019s Metzada unit are operating in the area. During the operation, troops arrested five terror suspects and questioned dozens of additional individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activity.<\/p>\n The military says Paratroopers reconnaissance forces carried out mortar fire in the Qabatiya area overnight. Troops also raided and mapped the home of the assailant and cordoned off the immediate area.<\/p>\n A full curfew has been imposed on Qabatiya, with engineering forces carrying out blockades across the town. The IDF adds that aerial forces are providing fire support and reconnaissance over Qabatiya and the nearby Jenin area, while additional forces continue to reinforce the seam line, a swath of West Bank land on the Israeli side of the security barrier.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Police have arrested five people during a large-scale raid today on Tarabin al-Sana, a Bedouin town in the Negev, after two masked individuals set fire to cars in a neighboring Jewish town overnight.<\/p>\n Police claim the incident \u2014 in which the two suspects damaged dozens of vehicles \u2014 was a \u201crevenge operation\u201d for another police raid on the Bedouin village last night.<\/p>\n In security camera footage from the incident, the men are seen attempting to set fire to two cars parked on the street in Giv\u2019ot Bar, just north of Tarabin al-Sana.<\/p>\n According to local outlets, the suspected attackers used a wire cutter to break through the town\u2019s fence and then set cars on fire. Residents reportedly woke up to the sound of explosions.<\/p>\n Officers and Border Police are continuing to operate in Tarabin al-Sana. Of the five arrested today, several are suspected in last night\u2019s arson, a police spokesman tells The Times of Israel.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Italian police say that they have arrested seven people suspected of raising millions of euros for Hamas under the guise of fundraising for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.<\/p>\n Police also issue international arrests for two others outside the country.<\/p>\n Three associations, officially supporting Palestinian civilians but allegedly serving as a front for funding Hamas, are implicated in the investigation, a police statement says.<\/p>\n The nine individuals are accused of having financed approximately seven million euros ($8 million) to \u201cassociations based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n While the official objective of the three associations was to collect donations \u201cfor humanitarian purposes for the Palestinian people,\u201d more than 71 percent was earmarked for the direct financing of Hamas\u201d or entities affiliated with the Islamist terror group, according to police.<\/p>\n Some of the money went to \u201cfamily members implicated in terrorist attacks,\u201d the statement says.<\/p>\n Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, according to media reports.<\/p>\n Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi posts on X that the operation \u201clifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A third of Kyiv has been left without heating after a vast overnight Russian attack, according to Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky says the major bombardment shows Moscow does \u201cnot want to end the war.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRussia\u2019s only response to peace efforts is brutal attacks using hundreds of drones and missiles against Kyiv and other cities and regions,\u201d foreign minister Andrii Sybiha writes on X, saying the attack left much of the capital city without power and heat. The temperature in Kyiv is around zero degrees Celsius (32\u00b0F) today.<\/p>\n The Russians \u201cdo not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering and increase their pressure on others around the world,\u201d Zelensky says after the Russian barrage pummeled the capital killing at least one person and injuring at least 11.<\/p>\n Zelensky issues the comments ahead of his departure for talks in the United States with President Donald Trump on a plan to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The IDF says a shooting incident near the Hashmonaim checkpoint in the West Bank was carried out by hunters and was not an attempted terror attack.<\/p>\n There were no injuries in the incident, but the IDF deployed a large force to look for the shooter.<\/p>\n The IDF says searches will continue for the hunters in order to confiscate their weapons.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nSomalia\u2019s Al-Shabaab vows to fight any Israeli use of Somaliland after recognition<\/a><\/h4>\n
Ukraine anti-corruption agency says it tried to raid parliament, stopped by guards<\/a><\/h4>\n
\n
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nIDF says forces continuing large-scale op in West Bank town after yesterday\u2019s terror attack<\/a><\/h4>\n
Police arrest 5 during raid in Negev Bedouin town after arson attack in nearby Jewish town<\/a><\/h4>\n
Italy arrests seven for diverting $8 million in donations for Palestinians to fund Hamas<\/a><\/h4>\n
Ukraine: 1\/3 of Kyiv without heat after attack; Zelensky: shows Russia doesn\u2019t want to end war<\/a><\/h4>\n
IDF says shots fired near West Bank checkpoint came from hunters, not terror attack<\/a><\/h4>\n