First came the death of its top leader abroad, Ismail Haniyeh, by a bomb planted in Tehran.
Then came Israel’s announcement that, only weeks earlier, it had killed Hamas’s most elusive and revered military leader.
All of this as Israel continues to wage the deadliest war Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip have ever faced.
At first tally, the latest score in the 30-year struggle between Israel and Hamas looks like a devastating one for the Islamist movement, one that throws its future into question.
Analysts and regional observers in contact with Hamas leaders see the latest blows it has suffered — including Mr. Haniyeh’s assassination, widely believed to be at Israel’s hand — as offering Israeli forces a short-term victory at the cost of long-term strategic success.
Persons:
Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh’s
Locations:
Tehran, Israel, Gaza