Al Jazeera airs unseen Hamas videos of top commanders, all since killed

Clips show Mohammed Deif in tunnels and plotting attacks, alongside Haniyeh, Sinwar and other leaders in the terror group

By Emanuel Fabian
  • Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
 Today, 5:16 am
A screenshot of an undated Hamas video aired by Al Jazeera on October 30, 2026, shows the commanders of the terror group's military wing in an underground tunnel below the Gaza Strip. (Screenshot of Hamas video broadcast by Al Jazeera)

Qatar’s Al Jazeera on Friday aired Hamas footage of the terror group’s leaders in the Gaza Strip, from several years before the October 7 war.

One clip broadcast on Al Jazeera’s “The Hidden Is More Immense” documentary series, and published shortly after by Hamas on its Telegram channel, showed top commanders in the terror group’s military wing gathering in a tunnel.

The video showed Mohammed Deif, then commander of Hamas’s military wing, sitting on a bed at the end of an underground room, with the rest of the Al-Qassam Brigades’ leadership, including department heads and brigade commanders, on a carpet.

All those seen in the footage have since been killed by Israel, including Deif, Marwan Issa, Raad Saad, Mohammed Shabana, Mohammed Sinwar, Ahmed Ghandour, Ayman Nofal, Rafa Salama, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, Mohammed Odeh, Hakam al-Issa, Raed Thabet, Ghazi Abu Tamaa and Bassem Issa.

The images were taken sometime prior to May 2021, as Bassem Issa, then commander of the Gaza City Brigade, was killed during the 11-day war that month, known in Israel as Operation Guardian of the Walls.

One video aired by Al Jazeera showed the moments the commander of Hamas’s rocket array, Ayman Siam, ordered the launching of rockets at Israel on May 10, 2021, and another clip showed Yahya Sinwar, then leader of Hamas in Gaza, during the 11-day war.

Hamas regularly releases footage via Al Jazeera, which has been banned from operating in Israel due to its close ties to the terror group.

Another clip showed Deif and other Hamas leaders moving through Gaza’s underground tunnels, and during various meetings.

In another video, Deif, Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, who led Hamas’s political bureau. The three are seen touring a rocket manufacturing site in the Strip.

One clip shows Sinwar on the phone with Deif in 2021, congratulating him upon the declaration of a ceasefire in the 11-day war.

Finally, a video shows Deif with other commanders during a military briefing, ostensibly during planning for the October 7, 2023, attack.

Deif led Hamas’s military wing for years and evaded several assassination attempts. He was killed in a strike in Khan Younis in July 2024.

Haniyeh led Hamas in Gaza between 2006-2017. He was then appointed political bureau chief and served in the role until his assassination in Iran by Israel, also in July 2024.

Yahya Sinwar led Hamas in Gaza between 2017 and 2024. The chief architect of the October 7 attack, he was killed by Israeli troops in Gaza in October 2024.

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