GAZA: Hamas elected Khalil al-Hayya as its political leader on July 20 after an internal run-off against veteran official Khaled Meshaal, the Palestinian group said.
Al-Hayya succeeded Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Rafah, southern Gaza, on October 17, 2024. Hamas had since operated under a temporary five-member leadership council that included both al-Hayya and Meshaal.
The internal ballot was decided in a second round after neither candidate secured the position in the first round, according to Al Jazeera. Hamas did not release a vote count or disclose how individual council members voted.
Born in the Gaza Strip in 1960, al-Hayya joined Hamas when the group was established in 1987. He later became the Gaza chief in exile and operated mainly from Doha, Qatar.
Al-Hayya has served as Hamas’s lead negotiator in indirect ceasefire and prisoner-exchange talks with Israel. Qatar and Egypt have acted as mediators in those negotiations.
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His influence increased after the deaths of Sinwar and former political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in July 2024. Al-Hayya was also among senior Hamas officials targeted in an Israeli strike in Doha in 2025, Israeli officials told Reuters.
Hamas did not announce any immediate changes to its negotiating team or to its wider political bureau following the election.
