Khalil Al-Hayya, a hardliner, has been elected as the new leader of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, according to reports from Reuters and Al Jazeera on July 20.
Al-Hayya was chosen after a runoff vote against his rival, Khaled Meshaal. The BBC reported that the electoral college for Hamas consists of 69 members, requiring at least 36 votes to win. In the initial round, Meshaal narrowly led but did not secure enough votes for victory. Al-Hayya was subsequently elected in the runoff.
Born in Gaza City in 1960, Al-Hayya has been active in Hamas since its founding in 1987. In 2006, he was elected as a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council led by the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to Al Jazeera. The Times of Israel reported that following Hamas's invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, Al-Hayya took refuge in Qatar. He has also been instrumental in diplomatic efforts, leading negotiations with Israel, Egypt, and the United States. He played a key role as a negotiator during the ceasefire agreement with Israel last October.
Al-Hayya was considered the right-hand man of Yahya Sinwar, the former supreme leader who was killed in an Israeli attack in October 2024. However, after Israel targeted Sinwar and military commander Mohammed Deif at the onset of the conflict, Hamas has been led by a five-member leadership committee, including Al-Hayya, instead of appointing a new supreme leader.
Al-Hayya has personally suffered losses due to Israeli attacks, with four of his children, including his son Osama and daughter-in-law, killed in strikes on their home in 2014. Additionally, his son Hummam was killed in an Israeli attack in Doha, Qatar, last September.
A senior Hamas official told AFP, "Khalil Al-Hayya was elected with an overwhelming majority of votes as the supreme leader," adding that the Hamas political bureau will hold a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, in the coming days to begin restructuring the leadership. The existing leadership committee will resign and dissolve before the new advisory body, the Shura Council, is formed. Al-Hayya is expected to be officially inaugurated next week.
Al Jazeera reporter Nour Odeh noted that Al-Hayya is perceived as a hawk in Israel and is closer to Iran than to Turkey or other Arab nations, raising questions about future developments. The Times of Israel also commented that Al-Hayya's election underscores the close ties between Hamas and Iran, which openly calls for the destruction of Israel.
Last month, Hamas officially transferred its governance of the Gaza Strip to the National Committee for Gaza, established through former President Donald Trump's peace initiative. The NCAG is led by Palestinian technocrat Ali Shate.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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