Hamas elects Khalil al-Hayya as group’s new leader

GAZA CITY

Khalil al-Hayya, senior leader and top Hamas legislative candidate, smiles during an interview with AFP at his office in Gaza City on April 21, 2021. (AFP photo)

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas announced on July 20 that it elected Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s lead negotiator in indirect ceasefire talks with Israel, as the new head of its political bureau.

“The Islamic Resistance Movement announces the election of brother mujahid Khalil al-Hayya as head of the movement’s political bureau, succeeding the martyred leader Yahya al-Sinwar,” Hamas said in a statement.

Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024 in Gaza.

The senior Hamas figure served as the group’s lead negotiator in ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations aimed at ending the war in Gaza, which erupted after the movement’s deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Since the death of Hamas leader Sinwar nearly two years ago, the group has been governed by a five-member leadership council, of which al-Hayya has been a key member.

A native of the Gaza Strip, al-Hayya spent most of his life there before relocating to Qatar shortly ahead of the 2023 attack. He has remained based in Doha ever since.

The move came as Hamas announced on July 6 the dissolution of the body that has governed the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, clearing the way for a technocratic committee to implement civilian rule.

Since a ceasefire took effect in Gaza last October between Hamas and Israel, the group has repeatedly said it is prepared to step aside from day-to-day governance, but the thorny issue of its disarmament remains unresolved.

Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis, including settlers and right-wing activists, marched towards the border with Gaza on July 19, calling on the government to reestablish Israeli settlements in the war-shattered Palestinian territory.

The demonstrators gathered near the border before walking in large numbers towards the fence overlooking northern Gaza, where Israeli security forces deployed to prevent participants from advancing further.