Cairo, July 20 (dpa/GNA) – Khalil al-Hayya has been elected the new leader of Hamas, following an internal vote, the Palestinian Islamist group said on Monday.
Al-Hayya will head the group’s Political Bureau, replacing Yahya al-Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024. Since al-Sinwar’s death, al-Hayya served on the five-member council that has led Hamas. He has also served as the group’s chief negotiator in talks, aimed at securing a lasting peace agreement for the Gaza Strip.
Al-Hayya was born in Gaza, but in recent years has spent most of his time in Qatar, and previously served as the highest-ranking Hamas leader abroad.
Last year, the Israeli Air Force attempted to attack Hamas’ top leadership in the Qatari capital Doha, with al-Hayya reportedly one of the targets. Four of his sons have been killed in Israeli attacks, including one in the attack in Doha.
Al-Hayya prevailed over Khaled Mashal, who previously led Hamas from 1996 to 2017 and is based in Doha. Mashal narrowly survived an assassination attempt by the Israeli Mossad intelligence service. Israel has already killed several senior Hamas figures – including the former leader Ismail Haniyeh in 2024, who was succeeded by al-Sinwar.
Despite a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip since October 2025, there are frequent deadly attacks. The disarmament of Hamas, as envisaged in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, has not yet been implemented.
While Israel continues to control more than half of the Gaza Strip, Hamas has re-established control over the areas that it controls since the start of the ceasefire.
GNA