Conflict & Security
Hamas names Gaza negotiator Khalil al-Hayya as new chief
Hamas named veteran leader Khalil al-Hayya as its new chief on Monday, choosing the figure who had led the group's indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel during the war in Gaza.
A senior Hamas official said Hayya was elected by an overwhelming majority and was expected to formally take the role next week. Another Hamas source said the election was carried out through a complex and secretive mechanism because of the security situation and the assassination of several political and military leaders.
Hayya, a former Muslim Brotherhood official and one of Hamas's founders, will replace slain leader Yahya Sinwar. The source described him as viewed as a moderate within the movement. Hamas chose him over longtime leader Khaled Meshaal.
Hayya and Meshaal survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Doha in September 2025. The attack killed several people, including one of Hayya's sons and his chief of staff. Doha serves as an informal base for Hamas and a place from which the group maintains ties with the Arab and Islamic world.
From Qatar and Turkey, Hayya is expected to lead Hamas, including in Gaza, where the movement still controls large areas and a security apparatus of thousands of fighters. A Hamas official close to Hayya said he has good relations with Lebanon's Hezbollah, with Qatar, Egypt and Algeria, and with Iran, which the source described as Hamas's main financial and military backer.
The official described Hayya as pragmatic and conservative and said he was respected by political bureau members and military commanders. Hayya was raised in a religious and conservative family in Gaza, studied at the territory's Islamic University, completed a master's degree in Jordan and earned a doctorate in Islamic law in Sudan.
Hayya spent three years in Israeli prisons in the late 1990s and survived assassination attempts in 2007 and 2014. He has repeatedly stressed the importance of armed struggle. Several members of his family have been killed in Israeli military operations, including an operation that targeted his house in northern Gaza in 2007 and killed his wife and three of his children.
In 2006, Hayya headed Hamas's parliamentary bloc after the group won elections. The following months of political and administrative conflict marked the beginning of the split between Hamas and Fatah, the party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Sinwar, whom Israel accused of being one of the main architects of the October 7, 2023 attack, was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza a year later. Since his death, Hamas has been led by a five-member leadership council headed by senior official Mohammed Darwish. A senior Hamas official said the council would be dissolved and its members would submit their resignations to the group's Shura Council. The official said the political bureau would meet in Istanbul within days to form committees and begin restructuring Hamas's leadership bodies.
Update
A senior Hamas official said Hayya was elected by an overwhelming majority and is expected to formally assume the role next week.
A Hamas source said the election used a complex and secretive mechanism because of the security situation and assassinations of political and military leaders.
Hayya is a former Muslim Brotherhood official and one of the founders of Hamas.
He survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Doha in September 2025, along with Khaled Meshaal; the attack killed several people, including one of Hayya's sons and his chief of staff.
The source says Hayya will lead Hamas from Qatar and Turkey, including in Gaza.
A Hamas official close to Hayya said he has good relations with Hezbollah, Qatar, Egypt, Algeria and Iran.
Hayya studied at Gaza's Islamic University, completed a master's degree in Jordan and a doctorate in Islamic law in Sudan.
He spent three years in Israeli prisons in the late 1990s and survived assassination attempts in 2007 and 2014.
A senior Hamas official said the five-member leadership council would be dissolved and its members would resign to the Shura Council.
A Hamas official said the political bureau would meet in Istanbul within days to form committees and begin restructuring leadership bodies.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 14:03:28 UTC.
Update
Hamas said al-Hayya succeeded Yahya al-Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza a year after the October 7, 2023 attacks.
The source says Hamas had been led since Sinwar’s death by a five-member leadership council headed by Mohammed Darwish.
Al-Hayya was born in 1960 and survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Doha last year in which one of his sons was killed.
A senior Hamas official said al-Hayya defeated Khaled Meshaal and was elected by an overwhelming majority.
The official said al-Hayya is expected to formally assume the role next week.
The official said the political bureau would meet in Istanbul within days to form committees and begin restructuring Hamas leadership bodies.
The official said the five-member leadership council would be dissolved and its members would submit resignations to the Shura Council.
A Hamas source said the election used a complex and secretive mechanism because of security conditions and assassinations of leaders.
Representatives of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades declared full support for al-Hayya.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 11:50:01 UTC.
Update
Hamas said al-Hayya succeeds Yahya al-Sinwar as head of the movement's political bureau.
Since Sinwar's death, Hamas had been led by a leadership council headed by Mohammed Darwish.
Al-Hayya was born in 1960.
Al-Hayya survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Doha last year, though one of his sons was killed in the strike.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 11:31:41 UTC.
Update
Khalil al-Hayya was described as Hamas's lead negotiator in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel.
Hamas said al-Hayya succeeds Yahya al-Sinwar as head of its political bureau.
The source says Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 11:21:32 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
Hayya was expected to formally assume the role next week, according to a senior Hamas official.
Source
AFP news report published on .