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Hamas names new leader
Hamas announced on Monday that it elected Khalil al-Hayya as head of its political bureau, succeeding Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024.
France 24, citing AFP, said Hayya is expected to formally assume the role next week and that he had spearheaded Hamas’s indirect ceasefire negotiations with arch-foe Israel for months.
i24NEWS described al-Hayya as Hamas’s lead negotiator in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel and said the election capped months of secretive deliberation following the deaths of senior Hamas figures in Israeli strikes.
The Times of Israel reported that al-Hayya defeated Khaled Mashaal in the leadership contest and that he is closely tied to the Gaza Strip, where Hamas controls part of the territory and much of the population.
France 24 also reported that Hayya survived an Israeli attack in Doha targeting the Hamas leadership which left several people dead, including one of his sons, and that the Qatari capital serves as an informal base for Hamas.
Reactions and election process
Al Jazeera reported that Gaza residents weighed in on the election of Khalil al-Hayya, with reactions described as mixed as people questioned whether the leadership change will impact the humanitarian crisis.
France 24 said a senior Hamas official told reporters that "Khalil al-Hayya was elected by an overwhelming majority," and added that the election process was conducted through a highly complex and secretive mechanism.
The Times of Israel said the election was not transparent and quoted a Hamas source describing "a highly complex and secretive mechanism because of the difficult security situation and the occupation's assassination of several political and military leaders."
i24NEWS said Hamas’s statement named al-Hayya as head of the movement’s political bureau and described him as succeeding the martyred leader Yahya al-Sinwar.
France 24 added that the Palestinian Islamist movement named Hayya over longtime leader Khaled Meshaal, and that Hayya is expected to formally assume the role next week.
Ceasefire talks and next phase
The new leadership arrives as Hamas continues indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel, with France 24 describing Hayya as having spearheaded those talks in an effort to halt the war in Gaza.
“Toggle Play Gaza residents weigh in on election of new Hamas leader Hamas’s election of Khalil al-Hayya as its new leader has drawn mixed reactions in Gaza”
The Times of Israel said the top official was the chief negotiator for Hamas during ceasefire-hostage release talks to end the war in Gaza, which began after the October 7 Hamas-led onslaught and massacre in 2023.
The Times of Israel also said negotiations over the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire have all but completely stalled due to Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s desire to hold off on major decisions in, or withdrawals from, the Strip until after the Israeli election in October.
France 24 reported that Hayya will replace slain leader Yahya Sinwar and that Hamas has been led by a five-member leadership council headed by senior official Mohammed Darwish since Sinwar’s death.
The Times of Israel said the current five-member leadership council will be dissolved, with its members submitting their resignations to the group’s senior Shura Council, and that the political bureau will meet in Istanbul within days to form committees and begin restructuring Hamas’s leadership bodies.
