Hamas names Khalil al-Hayya as new leader

Hamas has named Khalil al-Hayya as its new leader, succeeding Yahya Sinwar who was killed by the Israeli army in October 2024.

Al-Hayya, a former deputy chairman of the Palestinian group and one of five members of its leadership council, won an internal ballot in a run-off against former political leader Khaled Meshaal, Hamas said in a statement on Monday.

Al-Hayya rose in importance after the killings in 2024 of top Hamas leaders Sinwar and military commander Mohammed Deif in Gaza, and Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated during a visit to Tehran the same year.

With those losses, al-Hayya became one of five leaders steering Hamas’s leadership council, the temporary, five-member ruling committee formed in late 2024 to govern Gaza during Israel’s genocidal war.

He was the Hamas chief negotiator when a ceasefire agreement was reached with Israel in October 2025. The deal has failed to bring an end to frequent deadly Israeli attacks in Gaza.

Al-Hayya himself has been the target of at least two assassination attempts by Israeli forces.

“Israel has not officially reacted to this election but he is described in Israel as ‘a hawk’, as someone who is closer to Iran than the Arab governments, than even Turkey. Of course, this may shed some light on how things will move forward,” Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh reported from near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“This is an election process that is very intricate. It has taken months for the various layers of election in Hamas to conclude in the West Bank, in Gaza, in Israeli prisons and in the diaspora, all culminating in this moment,” she said.

Born in the Gaza Strip in 1960, al-Hayya has been part of Hamas since it was established in 1987. He was elected to the parliament of the Palestinian Authority in 2006.

He became especially important on the diplomatic front, based mainly in Qatar, which emerged as the main hub for mediation with other countries, including Israel, Egypt, and the United States.

Operating outside Gaza allowed him to travel and coordinate between neighbouring countries without the constraints of the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Al-Hayya has also led Hamas’s delegations in mediated talks with Israel to try to secure a Gaza ceasefire deal.

Al-Hayya’s family has suffered as a result of Israeli attacks. Four of his children have been killed by Israeli attacks over the years. During the 2014 war, an Israeli strike destroyed the house of his eldest son, Osama, who was killed along with his wife, and three of their children.