Ali al-Amoudi

Ali al-Amoudi has been the leader of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip since July 2026, and is a member of the organization’s political bureau. For years, he was regarded as one of Yahya Sinwar’s close associates and held a series of positions in the movement’s leadership, public information, and media apparatuses. In 1994, al-Amoudi was a member of a Hamas cell that ambushed Shin Bet agents in the town of Beitunia, near Ramallah. Shin Bet agent Noam Cohen was killed in the ambush, and another agent was wounded. Al-Amoudi was captured by Israeli security forces several days later. He was convicted, among other offenses, of intentional homicide, attempted murder, and harboring a wanted person, and was sentenced to three life terms. In 2011, he was released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. Following his release, al-Amoudi joined the Hamas leadership in Gaza. During Yahya Sinwar’s first term as the leader of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, from 2017 to 2021, al-Amoudi served as the director of his office. This position placed him within Sinwar’s inner circle and gave him a role in the movement’s leadership activities and decision-making processes. He was described as one of Sinwar’s close associates and as an influential figure within the centers of power surrounding him. In Hamas’s 2021 internal elections, al-Amoudi was elected to the movement’s political bureau. During Sinwar’s second term, he was placed in charge of Hamas’s Media and Communications Department. He continued to hold the position in the period preceding Sinwar’s death during an encounter with Israel Defense Forces in Rafah in October 2024. Al-Amoudi’s involvement in media and public information also extended to the military media apparatus of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing. As part of his duties, he served as a liaison between the al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas leadership, and the media. This role made him one of the figures in the political leadership with particularly close ties to the movement’s military echelon. Despite his positions in media and public information, al-Amoudi rarely appeared in public. His media appearances were infrequent and took place mainly at internal Hamas events and activities. In the period preceding the October 7, 2023 attack, he was involved in implementing a program referred to within the movement as the “Reform Plan,” although its details and objectives were not made public. In July 2026, al-Amoudi was formally appointed to lead the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, a position held by Sinwar before the war. In this role, he was tasked with rebuilding the movement’s organizational and command structures, which had been damaged during the war in Gaza.